Eurotopics.net

The Taliban's rapid recapture of Afghanistan came as a shock and dealt a major blow to the West. Commentators in Europe's media examine the consequences for neighbouring countries and Europe.

In the village of Harskamp in the Netherlands, around 250 mostly young Dutch people demonstrated last week outside a local military base housing Afghan refugees. While conservative and right-wing populist politicians voiced sympathy with the demonstrators, members of the government condemned the protests. The press comes down hard on politics and society.

Former Austrian vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache has been given a fifteen-month suspended prison sentence for corruption in office. The former leader of the right-wing populist Austria Freedom Party (FPÖ) was accused of helping to change a law so a friend could secure public funding for his private clinic in return for party donations and holidays. The corruption case first came to light in the Ibizagate video. Strache plans to appeal the conviction.

The Russian people will elect their representatives in the State Duma on September 19. The election will have little impact on the power of Putin and his ruling party United Russia, commentators say. But for some observers the fact that in addition to repressive measures against the opposition the government has now introduced special payments for pensioners and soldiers is an indication of how nervous it is.

At least 85 people have died and 150 have been injured in the terrorist attacks in Kabul. The IS terrorist militia, which operates independently of the Taliban in Afghanistan and advocates an even more extreme interpretation of Islam, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Europe's press looks at the impact on the evacuation operations and what the attack says about the balance of power in Afghanistan.