The following are editorial opinions from newspapers from around the world which may be of interest to Royal Gazette readers.

This Day, Lagos, Nigeria,–on Pakistan

In what could be described as a big set back for President Pervez Musharraf and his United States backer, but good news to the people of Pakistan, two Pakistani opposition parties have agreed to a coalition government after they won most seats in the country's parliamentary election.

Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) led by Asif Zardari, the husband of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and Pakistani Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) led by Nawaz Sharif, another former prime minister, had announced a new alliance, which gives them not only control of the country's main legislature but also opportunity to form the new government.

This development, which most Pakistanis welcomed, would certainly put pressure on President Pervez Musharraf, a former military dictator who had plunged the country into serious crisis following his iron-fist rule. ... The Coalition must also be wary of Musharraf's antics, as he would want to divide them for his own selfish ambition and that of his American backers.

They must work together in the interest of the country and its people. The greater challenge therefore is how to contain the former general and how to steer the country away from the path of violence that has consumed the nation's former leaders and many ordinary Pakistanis. Peace and democracy in Pakistan can only be achieved if the opposition remains together and not get consumed by private partisan interests.

Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo,–on the Italian general election

Japan and Italy are said to be politically much alike. Among the similarities are that the two countries' respective prime ministers tend to come and go in rapid succession, and that corruption is rife in the parties in power.

The fact that the reins of government have remained in the hands of a conservative party — the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan and the former Christian Democracy in Italy — for the majority of the postwar period is the most striking similarity.

This week's snap general election in Italy resulted in the first change of government in two years. The center-right alliance won, and Silvio Berlusconi, 71, will again take office as prime minister — for his third term, following two years in opposition. ...

Here, people tend to believe that five changes of government in less than 20 years would spark great political confusion. Italian voters, however, don't seem to be seriously bothered by that idea.

Obviously, the Italian people must realise that voting in a new administration won't immediately fix their economic woes. Still, when Italian politics becomes bogged down, people get to vote in general elections to make their views known. This makes for a healthy "political metabolism," and there is no question this system is firmly in place in Italy. ...

For years, critics have been saying the LDP's "serviceable life" has expired. Yet, there has been little political change in this country, if any. We feel a bit envious of Italy, where voters can immediately oust the party in power whenever they need to get out of a rut.