The new Italian government has the same people in key positions that it did four years ago. The economy will be in the hands of the controversial Giulio Tremonti and the responsibility of organizing it in those of the even more debated Roberto Maroni. It could be guessed that Berlusconi is trying for a miracle like that achieved by Spain’s José María Aznar between 1996 and 2004. And this not with cement and more immigrants. He will try to use nuclear energy and liberal reforms, says the author. Will he succeed?

• The Italian elections: "Obama versus McCain"… Roman style
  por José Catalán Deus

The revolt of Muslim children who gambled for a European paradise confirms difficult integration and the undeniable existence of hundreds of sleeper cells in Europe’s numerous countries. Why are the jihadists of the world publishing documents in English, French and German on the Internet?

• The multidimensional fight against Al Qaeda
  por Sagrario Moran
• Preventing the radicalization of individuals in the UK
  por Borja Lasheras

The Turkish lay establishment, represented by certain bureaucratic, judicial, military sectors is ready to recover in the courts what was lost in the ballot boxes, and has asked the court to close the AKP, the Islamic formation moderated in the government since 2002. A request that would have pernicious consequences for Turkey, assures the author.

• The United States Takes Turkey Out of Iraq
  por Ildefonso González Blasco
• Turkey, in the spotlight
  por Adrián Mac Liman

The entire world is searching for the magic prescription to save the Spanish miracle from ending in tears. One recent proposal in these pages could open a fertile debate. However, time flies and even the best plans won’t avert short-term suffering. Proposals can be formed, but the obstacles should not be ignored. Where some see the glass half full, I see it almost empty.

• Spain Must Identify New Growth Waves
  por Joaquín Mirkin

The arrival of Sarkozy to the French government has provoked some changes in French foreign affairs: an approximation to the United States, a tuning in to the United Kingdom and better tandem autonomy with Germany. The transformation could have consequences in the long term for internal cohesion in the European Union, states the author.

Spain finds itself at a crucial moment in 2008: the era of spectacular growth that began some fifteen years ago is reaching its peak. It is now time to restructure the economy and lay the foundation for the second transition. To do this, Spain should find new ways to grow by analyzing which sectors it should develop, as a function of its strengths as a country, in accordance with international market opportunities. The author says that it is very important to open up sectors that, through clusters, add a lot of gross value, just as successful countries like Israel and Ireland did.

After days of a military offensive against the Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, Turkey consented to withdraw its troops, in what appears to be a strategy to gain Washington’s trust and ensure that Ankara will have the possibility to carry out new, characteristically similar offensives (limited in scope and duration) in the near future. However, the Kurdish question will not be resolved until Turkey changes its mentality and puts policy before force when making decisions related to national security, states the author.

The failed meetings between Warsaw and Moscow are numerous and complex. Poland continues to view Russia as a threat, but Donald Tusk’s brand new cabinet intends to confront its great neighbor with a new strategy: to promote negotiation in view of the conflict. The objective of Warsaw is two-fold: to win allies that reinforce their position with respect to Moscow and to promote a more united stance within the heart of the European Union, one critical of the Russian excesses.

• Poland Wagers for Change
  por Mercedes Herrero de la Fuente
• The United States, Russia, and the "new" missile crisis
  por Zidane Zeraoui

In a few weeks, Italy will elect a new government without resorting to the habitual scores of acronyms. The left and right are presenting new, more integrated and centered formulas, which (they hope) will signify an important step towards the bipartisanship that they yearn for. Italian politics are being Americanized, but the small parties on both sides of the political spectrum and in the disputed center will fight for their survival.