United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Europe has already spurred German commentators to spill great lakes of ink. But that doesn't stop them from taking one more longing look at trans-Atlantic relations on Thursday. Besides, aside from the traditional Ash Wednesday speeches made by leading German politicians -- most of which turned out to be relatively ho-hum -- there isn't much else for editorialists to turn to on Thursday.

And one of Germany's most influential papers, the weekly heavy-weight Die Zeit hasn't yet had a chance to chime in on the state of European-US relations. A wide-ranging, front-page editorial on Thursday, however, does just that. The paper takes as a starting point the assumption that, despite recent attempts on both sides to thaw the frosty air, the trans-ocean Cold War partnership is completely dead. "There is no way back to the Cold War unity born out of fate....The old enemy doesn't exist anymore and the (Cold) War generation has almost completely disappeared from political life. The remaining reflex -- the instinct of trust -- disappeared, at the latest, during the Iraq War." The result, writes the paper, is that the current rapprochement is based much more on realpolitik necessity than a deep-seated sense of partnership.

The problem, though, as the paper points out, is that there are a number of crises around the world whose solutions require Western unity. Solutions, "however, require not just smiles and handshakes, but diplomatic virtues like a sense for the correct tone and empathy for the position of the other side -- and a real readiness for compromise. The desire to heed these virtues is the test as to whether...the new partnership will last."

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is likewise skeptical as to whether Rice's whirlwind European trip will actually change a thing. Despite Washington's current "politics of smiles," there is no indication that either side has changed foreign policy courses. Indeed, the current improved trans-Atlantic climate appears based on vague agreements to work more closely together in the future. But: "To base a new chapter on that may change the style of the (recent relationship) a bit. But it is only interesting because one doesn't yet know if that was already the end (of the improvement.)"

Similar arguments are to be found in both the left-leaning Die Tageszeitung -- "Politically, Rice hasn't moved one inch from those positions that led to the gulf between Europe and the United States in the first place" -- and the financial daily Handelsblatt: "The words (of Rice) now have to be filled with content. The USA must prove that it in fact take Europe seriously. The EU must show that the new costume as 'Global Players' really fits. Until now it has seemed a bit oversized."

Turning away from the rocky road being traveled by Europe and the US, the center-left daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung takes a look on Thursday at the bumbling attempts German politicians have been making lately to deal with the growing political presence of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD). The piece sarcastically posits that there are ten simple rules that mainstream politicians must adhere to in order to help the far right-wing gain legitimacy -- all of which German politicians have recently been following. The highlights:

1. One has to call as often as possible for a ban of the party.
2. One has to avoid addressing the state of democratic culture in schools, in local politics and on the streets.
3. The middle-of-the-road parties have to accuse each other of being responsible for the electoral successes of the right wing.
4. In discussing Middle East politics, one should compare the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as often as possible with the treatment of the Jews at the hands of the Nazis.
5. One should badmouth Germany as much as possible and leave the task of expressing a vision for the country to the far right.