Ringier honors Boris Tadi? with European Prize

 The Hans Ringier Foundation is awarding this year's "European Prize for Political Culture" to Serbian President Boris Tadi? He receives the 50,000 euro award for "his thinking and work as a courageous and committed democrat who fights against nationalist tendencies in his country and leads Serbia on the path to the European Union", as stated in a Ringier communiqué. The prize, awarded for the second time, was presented during the "Dîner républicain" at the Castello del Sole in Ascona, hosted by Frank A. Meyer, who always organizes this dinner during the Locarno Film Festival. A number of celebrities were present at the award ceremony, with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivering the laudatory speech for Tadi? Guests at the award ceremony included the Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey, the Swiss Federal Councillor and Minister of Culture Pascal Couchepin, the Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture Francesco Rutelli, the Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremi? and the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit.
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, top French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn, publisher Michael Ringier, Swiss author Adolf Muschg and EnBW CEO Utz Claassen served on the jury, which was chaired by Frank A. Meyer. The European Prize was awarded for the second time this year; in 2006 it went to Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.