Eurotopics.net

Polish voters will elect a new parliament on Sunday and face the choice between a broad opposition alliance and the PiS party, which has been in power since 2015. The alliance led by former EU Council President Donald Tusk is considered to have a good chance of replacing the current cabinet. The press looks at what the election results could mean for the country and for Europe.

Finland and Estonia are investigating damage to the Baltic-connector underwater gas pipeline, which runs between the two countries, after a sudden drop in pressure at the weekend. The Finnish government has said the damage may have been deliberate and was probably caused by external activity. The police specified that it was the result of a mechanical force of unknown origin. Commentators ask who or what could be behind the incident.

Robert Fico is set to become prime minister of Slovakia for the fourth time after the social democratic Hlas party led by Peter Pellegrini - also a former prime minister - opted to form a coalition with Fico's Smer party and the ultra-nationalist SNS instead of with the liberal Progresívne Slovensko, the Christian Democratic KDH and the pro-business SAS. Commentators are not happy.

Radical Islamic Hamas' brutal attack on Israel has shocked the world and triggered a wave of expressions of solidarity. Did Europe play down or underestimate the risk that Hamas posed? What role does antisemitism play here? And how can the Palestinian civilian population now be protected? Europe's press calls for a clear but nuanced stance.