Brown's Acid Test

"The immediate aftermath of a terrorist atrocity is the worst possible time to legislate," the right-wing Daily Telegraph declared in its editorial. "The government's response to the bombers should be proportionate to the threat faced, not to the public outrage. There is always a temptation for ministers to look tough by awarding themselves new powers instead of using the powers already at their disposal."

The Independent, a left-wing paper, took a similar line, declaring in its editorial that it "is vital that the prime minister does not rush through new repressive anti-terror laws ... it is vital that our political leaders pause for thought."

The Daily Mail, a right-wing paper that is often critical of the governing Labour Party, offered tentative praise for new Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who only took over from Tony Blair on Wednesday, and new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. It described the pair as "a new prime minister and a rookie home secretary both facing a huge test within hours of taking office and both, it must be said, commendably keeping their nerve. This time ... there has been no political grandstanding, no promises of 'tough' new measures. Instead, Gordon Brown and Jacqui Smith concentrate on reassuring the public and letting police and (domestic intelligence service) MI5 get on with the job. And that is surely right."

In Germany, the Süddeutsche Zeitung in Munich meanwhile commented on Brown's lack of charisma. "Appearing more wooden than usual and speaking in a weirdly tired voice, he praised the heroic courage of police and other emergency services and offered platitudes about the dangers of international terrorism," wrote the paper. "The difference in style was hard to miss. While Blair had the instinct to comfort people after dramatic events such as the death of Princess Diana or the terror attacks in New York and London, Brown appeared more like a US marshal, who is pressuring people into becoming auxiliary sheriffs. It was hard to keep track of how many times he admonished voters to be vigil."

French daily Liberation looked at what lies ahead in the war against terror. "Withdrawing British troops from Iraq or Afghanistan would not end the homemade terror in Britain. Western democracies have to have a three-fold response: There has to be the harshest response on the judicial level without introducing exceptions such as Guantanamo that only feed the hatred. Diplomatically, the US and Britain have to rethink their policy in Iraq and the Middle East. And finally, there needs to be a cultural response. We have to learn to live with a multicultural population without renouncing our own values. We have to integrate foreigners in order to isolate the minority that has chosen terror and violence. If we win this struggle, democracy will emerge with newfound strength."

Madrid's ABC was more interested in the immediate response: "It's obvious that the free world is the target of a massive attack that tries to conquer our society by force," the paper opined. "The planned massacres in Great Britain clearly were meant to coincide with the handover of power to Prime Minister Gordon Brown. It's easy to figure out that the perpetrators wanted to force London to change plans for troops in Iraq and other countries. Brown's decisive and rigorous answer is the best one."