Once again, it's a slow news week. The result? The German editorial pages are all over the map on what they decide to comment about on Thursday. Literally. China, with the European parliament set to debate today on whether the EU arms embargo against the country should be lifted, makes an appearance. Poland's announcement that it plans to withdraw its troops from Iraq when the United Nations mandate expires at the end of the year, is also addressed in one German daily. Ink is likewise spilled on the ongoing violence in Africa.

But it's Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of the German media's favorite whipping boys, who is chosen for a couple of helpings of vile on Thursday. His government, it appears, is in trouble. His party recently took a beating in a number of regional elections and with the 2006 general elections looming, Berlusconi's opponents are circling like vultures over a fresh kill. In an effort to defuse the situation -- and to eliminate a potent weapon of critics who have attacked the premier for his almost monopolistic hold on Italy's broadcast media -- Berlusconi on Wednesday announced his intention to sell almost 17 percent of the Italian broadcaster Mediaset.

For the conservative daily Die Welt, the move is an indication of just how serious the situation has become in Berlusconi's governing coalition. Parties that have, until now, helped him become the longest-ruling Italian prime minister since the end of World War II, are now jumping ship. Hence, the move to sell part of his media empire. "Because he knows that credibility is currently the most valuable commodity on Italy's political market," he has taken a dramatic step. "As a businessman, the richest man in Italy can easily afford it. For his opponents, however, the sell-off will be too small. It makes it clear, though, that the defensive-minded Berlusconi has seemingly only one goal in mind: to become the first post-war prime minister to complete a term."

The financial daily Handelsblatt is likewise skeptical of Berlusconi's move, but for slightly different reasons. Whereas it may seem that he is capitulating before the pressures of his political enemies, it is actually a shrewd managerial move. After all, "media analysts predict ... that his media company Mediaset would lose almost a quarter of its value were Berlusconi to lose his position as prime minister." Thus, it is in both his financial and political interests to do everything he can to get re-elected. Nevertheless, the paper argues, "the transaction must be seen as a clear indication that the current crisis -- in contrast to many that have come before -- is a very serious one."

Recently, the German -- and indeed European -- press has developed a new favorite target to add to its collection: the European Union. Dwindling popularity for the union in France has merely highlighted continent-wide concern about cheap-labor flooding in from the new, Eastern European member states, and doubts about Turkey's proposed membership. The fact that most Europeans have no idea what actually happens in Brussels has also been putting a damper on European enthusiasm lately.

Wednesday's decision by the European Parliament to rubber stamp Romania's 2007 entry into the club is just the latest decision to fan the flames and the center-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung is not happy. The decision, the paper writes, "sends a friendly signal to a candidate that isn't ready for entry into the EU." Why isn't it ready? Because it is high up on the list of the world's most corrupt states -- on a par with Senegal and the Dominican Republic -- thus making it a questionable place for the EU to send the up to €40 billion it has promised in the coming years. Furthermore, the country has been slow to reform its justice system and, among other problems, to improve its environmental regulations. "The union," the paper says, "is inviting a problematic patient to join at a time that couldn't be more difficult."