Friday's roundup of newspapers includes articles from Ireland, Britain and the United States focusing on the possibility of a right-wing party winning a German election, Chinese developments in artificial intelligence, and how to deal with a shortage of interceptor missiles in Ukraine.
In the Irish Independent newspaper, an article was published entitled “German voters may signal a radical change in the course of European politics,” discussing the possibility of a far-right party winning a German state election, and the impact this would have on Europe.
The article indicates that Germany may witness next Sunday the first extreme right-wing government since the death of Adolf Hitler in 1945. The right-wing Alternative for Germany party is leading the opinion polls with a comfortable margin ahead of the Saxony state elections.
The state is currently administered by the center-right Christian Democratic Union Party, led by Friedrich Merz, in the framework of a coalition with the Democratic Party (centre-left) and the Free Democratic Party (liberal).
If the Alternative for Germany party wins 40 percent of the votes, as expected, and the smaller parties fail to achieve good results and fail to enter Parliament, then the “ultra-radical nationalist party with neo-Nazi roots” may be able to rule the state alone, according to the Irish newspaper. This will give the "hard right" power over the areas of security and public order, education, and cultural policy, on a scale not seen in Germany since World War II.
The newspaper indicates that Germany is witnessing a state of controversy, as prominent figures call for adopting strategies to marginalize the “AfD” party and limit its powers, while others advise a more comprehensive approach for fear that they will reinforce the party’s claims that the political establishment is opposed to democracy.
We turn to the British newspaper "The Guardian" and an article entitled "China, whose collapse the West gloatingly predicted, is building a revolution in artificial intelligence." Writer Larry Elliott recounts how many predicted the collapse of the Chinese economy based on several reasons, including debt and the collapse of the real estate market.
The author points out that China focused on low-cost industrial goods because lower labor costs provided a competitive advantage, and then began investing heavily in higher-value industries. He adds: "China has shattered the illusion that it will forever remain a developing economy doomed to produce low-quality goods and nothing more."
“China is now competing with the United States for dominance in the race to develop artificial intelligence,” says Elliott. The writer uses the opinion of Eduardo Campanella from UniCredit Bank, who says that Beijing is pursuing a clear strategy in the field of artificial intelligence, which is to remain close to the advanced technological frontiers.
In the Washington Post, writer Mark Thiessen discusses “How can Trump help Ukraine build its own Patriot missiles?” The writer begins by referring to the Russian attacks on Ukraine, saying: “Vladimir Putin is currently launching one of the most deadly attacks on the Kiev region since the beginning of the war.”
The writer believes that the solution “is to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture its own Patriot interceptor missiles.” He refers to what happened at the NATO summit held in Ankara in July, when Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: “We will give you a license to manufacture Patriot missiles.”
