- RESTRICTIONS ON ALCOHOL SALES THREATEN RETAILERS

Estonia is debating what is the best approach to take to tackle rising alcohol consumption. So far with little success, the daily Postimees criticises: “One day there are proposals to close stands selling alcohol, the next alcohol advertising is to be banned. There are those who favour issuing special licenses to sell alcohol or introducing drinks with a lower alcohol content. Of course it is a good thing that action is being taken to do something about alcohol abuse, for Estonia has a major problem here compared with other countries. But the fact is sometimes overlooked that campaigns of this kind can also have negative consequences. If, for example, you restrict alcohol sales in small shops, that would spell ruin for some shops in rural areas, so that people there would no longer be able to buy bread or milk either. Too stringent restrictions might also encourage an increase in black-market sales of alcohol.

–SOUPS ARE PORTUGAL’S CRISIS BAROMETER

In times of crisis the Portuguese take comfort in their traditional cooking, above all soups. But that is no longer a sign of poverty, writes the daily Público: “The soup is a sort of crisis barometer. … A few decades ago it was still considered a sign of our backwardness. In the 1960s and 1970s no one had any doubts: as soon as we were developed and European we’d all be eating yoghurt and salad instead of soup. And before reaching this sublime pinnacle of civilisation, we should start the transition with ethereal carrot purées. These were destined, we felt … to replace the bean and chick pea soups that – together with washing lines in the windows – were a glaring sign of Portuguese atavism. … After gastronomically difficult years we’ve now understood that while we may envy the Dutch for their well-oiled institutions, we don’t have to swill down what these oh so democratic and developed Dutch consider good food.”

–WITHDRAWAL OF MINISTER’S LICENCE HARASSMENT

The Czech Minister of Transportation Vít Bárta has had his driving licence revoked for six months for driving his car with a home-made number plate. Apparently a collector had stolen his regular number plate. Karel Steigerwald is not amused and comments in the liberal daily Mladá fronta Dnes: “I don’t want to live in a country like this. It makes sense to punish people for using a false registration number if the motive is fraud, if they are doing something nasty and perverting the course of justice. But this was not the case with Bárta. At worst he disobeyed a regulation. … Of course people like it when a minister is punished. They say: look, there is justice after all, even for ministers. But this is unjust more than just. While the real crimes can be committed practically without fear of punishment, this was pure harassment.”