With public spending at 56% of GDP, higher than in any other European Union country except Denmark, there has been no shortage of warnings.

ECONOMIST: A Socialist landslide, but trouble looms ahead

The press is irritable, partly because journalists see the need for bigger reforms, but also because there has been no exciting political story for months (except for the two German spies in Baghdad who allegedly helped the Americans with military intelligence and are now the subject of a parliamentary inquiry).

ECONOMIST: German reform

When one has lost, the other has usually won: except in Germany, there is almost no overlap between their European operations.

ECONOMIST: Mobile telephones

There is no answer, except to visit these buildings, as any architect who has done so and been transformed will tell you.

WSJ: Finnish Master Alvar Aalto | By Ada Louise Huxtable