On January 14, Giorgio Napolitano presented his resignation and thus his decision to not serve the remainder of his second term as President of the Italian Republic, which should have ended on 2020; Italy therefore faces from today, the election of a new Head of State. The new Head of the Italian State shall be elected by an electoral body of 1,009 representatives, comprising 630 MPs, 315 senators, six senators-for-life – among who are Mario Monti, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Giorgio Napolitano himself – and 58 regional delegates. The election, with secret ballot, will be held in the Chamber of Deputies and the votes will proceed as follows: first the senators, next the MPs and, finally, the regional delegates. 

A few days ago, Lord Smith of Kelvin presented the report which had been appointed to him after the historic referendum held on September 18 in Scotland. Just over 52% of the Scottish population voted against independence, but they did so after the commitment to increase the level of self-government of the Scottish Parliament was announced, assumed by the three main UK parties. The report of the Smith Commission aims to respond to that promise and is signed by the five main Scottish parties: nationalists, Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrats and Greens. Its content should not sound too new to any Spanish reader and, in many respects, it stays far from the powers already assumed by our Autonomous Communities.

To everyone's surprise and contrary to forecasts, Klaus Johannis (National Liberal Party, PNL), Mayor of Sibiu and member of the Democratic Forum of Germans of Romania (FDGR) won the second round of the presidential election that took place on 16th November in Romania. The right-wing opposition candidate won 54% of the vote against 46% for Victor Ponta, outgoing Prime Minister and chair of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). The difference in votes between the two men (8 percentage points) is unusual in Romania where presidential elections are often very tightly run.

The Prime Minister of Japan, conservative Shinzo Abe, announced last November 18 the dissolution of the House of Representatives of the Diet (lower house of the Japanese Parliament) and called for early general elections to be held on December 18. It is highly unlikely that the Japanese political landscape will change in such a short period of time as much as to make the coalition government headed by Abe, made up by the historic Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Buddhist party Komeito, lose their majority – currently overwhelming – in the House of Representatives. According to the polls, the LDP would reduce its parliamentary representation by 55 seats maximum, allowing for the comfortable survival of the ruling coalition.

Walking Next to the Wall (www.walkingnexttothewall.com), is the title of a documentary that is currently being released in several universities and cultural centres in Spain. It has been shot in several cities and towns of Egypt and is a true portrayal of a minority (10 million people) with weight in the Middle East: the Coptic Christians who, from the first century, live in a country that is crucial in the region.

Esta edición de Papeles FAES recoge las ideas y conclusiones del curso “Nación, Estado y Constitución” del Campus 2005 de la fundación, celebrado entre el 8 y el 10 de julio. En este curso intervinieron Carmen Iglesias, catedrática de Historia de las Ideas Políticas; Alain Lancelot, ex miembro del Consejo Constitucional de Francia; Edurne Uriarte, catedrática de Ciencias Políticas; Ferran Gallego, profesor de Historia Contemporánea de la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona; Manuel Jiménez de Parga, ex presidente del Tribunal Constitucional; Arcadi Espada, periodista; Jon Juaristi, escritor; Roberto Blanco, catedrático de Derecho Constitucional; César Alonso de los Ríos, periodista; Javier Corcuera, catedrático de Derecho Constitucional; Josep Piqué, ex ministro de Asuntos Exteriores; Emilio Lamo de Espinosa, catedrático de sociología y Alejandro Muñoz-Alonso, catedrático de opinión pública y portavoz del Grupo Popular en la Comisión de Defensa del Senado. El curso fue dirigido por Javier Zarzalejos. La edición de esta publicación ha corrido a cargo de Santos Villanueva.

El rechazo de los ciudadanos franceses y holandeses a los referendos de ratificación del Tratado de la Constitución Europea celebrados, respectivamente, el día 29 de mayo en Francia y el día 1 de junio en Holanda, está dirigido en primer término contra los Gobiernos de Chirac y de Balkenende, pero manifiestan también la profunda ansiedad de amplios sectores de la población de ambos países respecto a tres problemas de alcance general: la ampliación al Este, los efectos de la globalización en economías ?que como la francesa, mantienen niveles decrecientes de competitividad y productividad? y el fenómeno de la inmigración. Se ha desencadenado una crisis en la Unión Europea, que podría tener consecuencias no sólo respecto al Tratado Constitucional, sino también en relación a la unión monetaria y al peso de Europa en el escenario internacional.

Europe is in the throes of two simultaneous crises: on the one hand, it is suffering from a political crisis, a crisis of leadership, one that has led to constitutional failure; on the other, it is suffering from a loss of identity, a phenomenon that results in cultural relativism. Marcello Pera, Speaker of the Italian Senate and Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Pisa, delivered a conference entitled “Strength of Identity” during the course of the FAES Campus 2005, a paper which the FAES Foundation is now publishing. Also known as the co-author of the book Senza Radici (“Without Roots”) alongside Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Professor Pera urges European culture to proudly recall and reaffirm its origins and its universal democratic principles: freedom, equality and tolerance. In this respect, Europe must recognise the intrinsic value of a civilisation, Western civilisation, that has given the world so many universal ideas. “Europe must be aware of the moral superiority of a series of values that have prevailed over centuries and that have produced beneficial results wherever they have become established”.

Desde su inicio, la Unión Europea ha adoptado sus decisiones por consenso y respetando el equilibrio de los intereses de todos. Este afán se plasma en un sistema político-institucional sui generis en el que los Tratados atribuyen el poder legislativo, judicial y ejecutivo entre las diversas instituciones comunitarias. Dentro del entramado institucional comunitario, el Consejo desempeña un papel fundamental, puesto que es co-legislador y autoridad presupuestaria junto con el Parlamento Europeo. Además, el Consejo está llamado a ejercer un papel cada vez mayor en la definición de la política exterior de la Unión Europea y realiza una labor fundamental en la preparación de las reuniones del Consejo Europeo, verdadero vértice político de la Unión Europea. La forma en que el Consejo adopta sus decisiones está también diseñada para conseguir el consenso y mantener el equilibrio de poderes. Hasta ahora, el Consejo ha adoptado sus decisiones mediante el denominado sistema de voto ponderado.