As others see it

THE (British) government's sex scandals are perhaps minor, when you think that we still do not know who gives the generous donations which feed the Conservative Party, or who permits the recycling of dirty money in the City. But the nature of English politics is such that, as happened in the Profumo case . . . sexual transgressions can become a fatal catalyst which scuppers the boat.

'Corriere della Sera', Italian daily

THE British government has done the world a marvellous favour by demonstrating how not to conduct a campaign to promote traditional values . . . It appears to have been a typical example of 'pragmatic' politicians trying to pretend that they possess conservative principles which they secretly regard as primitive . . . But . . . the evidence that family breakdown can be associated with terrible social problems is too strong to ignore.

'Wall Street Journal'

IS THIS not the island of Squidgy, of Fergie, of Charles and Camilla, the island where almost one marriage in two ends in divorce and almost one child in three is illegitimate?

'La Stampa', Italian daily

WHERE they are not personally affected, members of the government team can only look on helplessly, as the attempt at the moral rebuilding of the nation or the party seems to lead to the complete breakdown of their own reputation . . . Major must again hear the old accusations: either he constantly has bad luck, or he can't cope with government.

'Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'