Eurotopics.net

The Swedish Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson has announced that her party's exploratory talks with the Left Party have failed. Although the centre-left bloc secured a narrow majority in the recent parliamentary election the attempts to form a government failed after the Left Party voted for Andreas Norlén of the Moderates, the long-serving Speaker of the Riksdag. The Swedish press takes stock.

In a referendum held on Sunday, 70.2 percent of Swiss voters rejected a stricter stance on neutrality. The principle of neutrality, as enshrined in the country's constitution, means that Switzerland does not take part in wars or join military alliances. The initiative was put forward by the association Pro Schweiz, which is backed by Swiss industrialist and politician Christoph Blocher and closely aligned with the right-wing populist Swiss People's Party (SVP).

For the first time since January 2022, the German and Russian foreign ministers met in person on Saturday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. However, there was apparently no convergence of positions during the 20-minute meeting between Sergey Lavrov and his German counterpart Johann Wadephul. The media discuss the diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine.

Pope Leo XIV is visiting France from 25 to 28 September. The trip has taken him to Paris, Lourdes and Metz. Church services attended by hundreds of thousands of people, discussions about abuse within the Church and a message on European integration were all on the agenda. Europe's media take a positive view of the visit.