European press review

Egypt holds its first free elections in generations. Serbians vote in a nationalist president. The man found guilty of the Lockerbie bombing dies ... but did he really do it? Nato prepares to leave Afghanistan. And Italy pays tribute to an anti-Mafia judge on the 20th anniversary of his murder.

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Who's who in 2012 Egyptian presidential election

Swiss daily Le Temps was among many newspapers reporting on the landmark polls.

They come amid a fair amount of chaos, some 15 months after Hosni Mubarak was forced from power. Certain candidates were barred from standing, for sometimes unclear reasons, the new parliament is constantly blocked, and the powerful army is playing cat and mouse with the Muslim Brotherhood.

To top it all off, the president, whoever he may be, will not even know what powers he has, as a constitution still has not been drawn up. Nonetheless, Egyptians are voting with enthusiasm. The country may have a long way to go in democratic terms, but at least people are passionate about trying to shape their own future, the liberal daily says.

It's been a season for elections in Europe too, and now Serbia has a new president.

The victory of nationalist politician Tomislav Nikolic could pose fresh problems for the European Union, according to Sweden's Dagens Nyheter.

Nikolic beat pro-European incumbent Boris Tadic. For 60 years Europe has progressed on two parallel tracks, the centre-left daily says: consolidation and expansion. But, at the moment, the debt crisis has undermined the euro single currency, with Greece facing possible ejection. And if nationalists like Nikolic come to power in the nations hoping to join, then perhaps there will be fewer members. If Europe can neither consolidate, nor enlarge, then it has little chance of developing at all. That, the paper says, should be a major source of concern for the EU.

The death of the convicted Lockerbie bomber made plenty of headlines this week.

For many, the death of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi could help bring closure for families of the 270 victims of the bombing of the Pan Am jetliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988.

But for Britain's Independent newspaper, the case is far from closed. Al-Megrahi was released from prison in 2009 on compassionate grounds due to his ill health but doubts have always remained over his guilt. Several victims’ families also believe he is innocent and one of their representatives described him as the bombings 271st victim, the liberal daily says.

With so many questions about the trial still unanswered, the Scottish government must launch a public inquiry into the tragedy. The suspect's death is no reason to give up trying to find the truth, the paper says.

Another news-maker this week was the Nato summit in Chicago, where the leaders of the military alliance agreed on a timetable to pull Western troops out of Afghanistan.

Der Spiegel says that US President Barack Obama, in particular, was happy to be able to keep his promise to end America's second hopeless war, after the failed mission in Iraq. Other leaders were also satisfied.

Not a single Nato country has a voter majority in favour of continuing the Afghan operation, Germany's most widely-read news weekly says. So now these leaders can deliver on promises to bring the soldiers home.

But dangers still lie ahead of the final withdrawal date of 2014. Some members could follow France's lead and announce that they are leaving early. On the ground, commanders have serious doubts about whether the Afghan army and police can provide security on their own.

The political situation is also fragile. President Hamid Karzai, once the favourite of the West, is supposed to step down in 2014, but he is considering delaying the election while the search goes on for a suitable replacement. There is concern that he could manipulate the polls, as happened in 2009. Election fraud could spark more insecurity, just as Nato seeks to leave, Der Spiegel says.

And we end this week in Italy, which marked the 20th anniversary of the death of a top anti-mafia judge.

Giovanni Falcone, his wife and bodyguards were killed in a massive bomb attack by mafia hit-men on his car in Sicily on the 23 May 2002. In Palermo this week, near where he died, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti urged the whole of Italy to take on the scourge of the mafia.

Indeed, the Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera says the fight against organised crime is now being won.

Mob bosses are arrested and sentenced, their assets and land confiscated. Italian society as a whole has developed antibodies against the mafia disease, the centre-right daily says. Italy has learned that these crime gangs are not just active in the south, where Falcone died. There is a new awareness that the fight against the mafia must be a joint battle that transcends borders and political allegiances.