European aerospace giant EADS is still reeling from subsidiary Airbus's difficulties with bringing its highly touted super-jumbo A380 to market. The largest shareholder DaimlerChrysler wants to decrease its stake in the struggling company from 22.3 to 15 percent. Any takers?

German Chancellor Merkel holds out hope that another private investor will sweep in and save the day, but few find that likely. In fact, most seem to think the Merkel government will end up buying the shares from DaimlerChrysler to prop up the company and prevent major job losses in Germany. Saving jobs is rarely politically unpopular, but there is growing frustration that billions of tax dollars are being spent on subsidies to prop up the inefficient company.

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung argues the struggling aircraft manufacturer needs less state control, not more. That EADS finds itself in the worst crisis of its history, having let down some of the world's biggest airlines with its failure to bring the flagship A380 to market, is a result of the company's state dependence, the paper argues. The editorialist holds out little hope that Chancellor Merkel will avoid the "fundamental mistake" of buying up the DaimlerChrysler shares. Alas, laments the paper, "Merkel has discovered the planned economy." The government should not be in the business of picking industry winners and losers. If the government protects Airbus jobs in Hamburg, shouldn't employees of Siemens and DaimlerChrysler have the same rights? "Whoever continues to finance Airbus without making the company efficient only prolongs the illness."

Of course, there never would have been a successful aircraft manufacturing industry in Europe had it not been for state intervention, writes the Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel. But that doesn't mean the industry should be forever controlled by the state: "This bird must at some point fly on its own." Though it affirms the state must eventually divest itself from the company for it to be competitive, the paper holds out the possibility that purchasing the DaimlerChrysler shares could be an acceptable short-term solution to protect German jobs.

Companies facing crisis have to get rid of inefficiencies and redundancies, they have to lower the costs and refine their customer orientation, writes the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. EADS is no exception, the paper argues. They should clean house just like any other company must. Unfortunately, writes the paper, this will not happen because the politicians want to be "celebrated as the saviors of jobs."

The Financial Times Deutschland, however, sees no need for the government to protect jobs in Hamburg. In fact, the paper writes, Chancellor Merkel should allow France to take a more dominant role. After all, EADS is fully aware that much of the technological know-how is in Germany, so an intervention from Berlin isn't necessary to preserve those jobs. The paper is convinced the government would "repeat the mistakes of the past" by buying the extra shares and increasing the government's role in the company. The paper calls on EADS to give up the classic argument that state intervention is necessary in the aircraft manufacturing and defense industries. It offers the counter-example of the US and the UK. "There the large aircraft and defense firms are not state-owned. And they are successful."

-- Joshua Gallu, 3:30 p.m. CET

Praise for Pamuk

Given Germany's ongoing debate on how best to integrate its Turkish population, it's hardly a surprise that most in the country are welcoming the selection of Orhan Pamuk as winner of the 2006 Nobel prize for literature. Many in Germany are also skeptical of Turkey's possible accession into the European Union. Pamuk's biting criticism of his homeland plays well in Berlin and beyond.

Conservative daily Die Welt hails Pamuk's recognition as a victory for literature, politics and readers. The paper writes, "it is rare that one of the art world's most recognized is also capable of politics." The paper applauds Pamuk's talent for addressing questions of tradition, freedom, independence and culture, and says he is exactly what his native land Turkey needs. The paper says Pamuk strengthens the Turkey that wants to come closer to Europe and liberal, Western values. Hopefully, writes the paper, the country will rise to his challenge.