TIME magazine calls him "the most important man" in Europe: Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti has been trying to reform Italy and reassure the markets, all while keeping the Germans happy, too.

What does the former European commissioner (dubbed "Super Mario" for his work in international finance) expect out of the G8 summit, what does he think of the competing views about the economy in Europe and what kind of Europe will emerge from the crisis?

CNN's Fareed Zakaria sat down with him for an exclusive interview in Washington on Friday. Check out some excerpts above and below, and watch the full interview on "Fareed Zakaria GPS" on Sunday, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET on CNN. FULL POST

"[Hollande] is part of France's political establishment, in a sense, rather more than Sarkozy was. ... He's a pragmatist."

Fareed Zakaria talks with British Labour Party politician Peter Mandelson about France's new leader, Francois Hollande. Watch more of Mandelson's take in this web exclusive from this week's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" show.

Editor's note: David Frum is a contributing editor at Newsweek and The Daily Beast and a CNN contributor. He is the author of seven books, including a new novel, "Patriots." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Frum.

Last month, two political scientists published one of those rare op-eds that gets the political community talking.

The thesis of the piece was contained in the title: "Let's just say it: The Republicans are the problem."

In case that was not clear enough, the authors elaborated: "We have been studying Washington politics and Congress for more than 40 years, and never have we seen them this dysfunctional." ...

The piece drew its authority from the authors' identity: Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein, two of Washington's most veteran watchers of Congress. Both men have hard-earned reputations for nonideological independence of mind despite their institutional affiliations: Mann works at the liberal Brookings Institution, Ornstein at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. (Ornstein is a friend of mine, and was a colleague until I was given the heave-ho from AEI in March 2010.)

Now they have backed their provocative op-ed with a new book, "It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism."

Read more from David Frum about why he thinks radicalization of the GOP is a function of changes, not only in U.S. politics, but also in the U.S. economy.

Mohamed Eljarh is a UK-based Libyan academic researcher and political/social development activist. He is from the city of Tobruk in Eastern Libya. Follow on Twitter: @Eljarh. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Mohamed Eljarh.

By Mohamed Eljarh, Special to CNN

In less than 40 days, Libya is set to witness the first elections since the ouster of the late Moammar Gahdafi. But are the elections coming too early?

Post-conflict elections should mark the pinnacle point in the recovery and reconstruction of Libya. Libyans and the international community look at the election on June 19 as a milestone toward peace and democracy.

But some studies show history can paint a gloomy picture of elections held soon after bloody armed struggles, when political institutions may be weak or non-existent. FULL POST

Editor's Note: Be sure to catch "Fareed Zakaria GPS" on CNN every Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET.

By Fareed Zakaria, CNN

Everyone is looking at Europe these days as economic and political protests mount across the continent.

The downward spiral has produced a great debate about the virtues of "austerity," the idea that governments with large budget deficits must reduce these deficits -– mainly by cutting spending. If they don't get their budgets in order, so the idea goes, they won't be able to borrow money and will face a fiscal nightmare of ever-rising interest rates. FULL POST

By Tim Lister, CNN

Greece may have given us the word democracy and many of the principles of civil society. But now it is "the sick man of Europe," and the people of other European democracies are asking whether it's worth saving with billions more dollars of their money. Put crudely, their argument is this: So what if Greece slides ignominiously out of the eurozone? FULL POST

Many are excited about the U.S. presidential campaign as the months tick down to November 6.

But Matt Taibbi is not.

He writes in his latest Rolling Stone post - headlined "Is this the Most Boring Election Ever?":

Obama versus Romney is the worst reality show on TV since the Tila Tequila days. The characters are terrible, there's no suspense, and the biggest thing is, it lacks both spontaneity and a gross-out factor.

CNN talked with Taibbi on the "boring" election, what's ahead for the candidates and why he thinks 2012 is feeling a lot like 2004. FULL POST

President Barack Obama's announcement that he now supports same-sex marriage has set off a new round of debate in the U.S. over the issue. His support comes on the heels of North Carolina voting to implement a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

But where around the world is same-sex marriage legal, where is legislation likely to happen next and and where is it criminalized? FULL POST

Editor's note: Ravi Agrawal is the Senior Producer of "Fareed Zakaria GPS." You can follow him on Twitter @RaviAgrawalCNN

By Ravi Agrawal, CNN

The winners of last Sunday’s elections in Greece and France would do well to consider “Juncker’s Curse.” It’s named after the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker, who famously quipped: “We all know what to do. But we don’t know how to get reelected once we've done it.”

Juncker would know. He’s the longest serving democratically elected head of government in the world.

But it raises an interesting, philosophical question. Is populism our greatest obstacle to growth and success? Are world leaders really just sitting on solutions to all our problems – but they can’t implement them because of us?

In other words, are people the problem, and not politicians? FULL POST

Although Francois Hollande rode to victory in France on an anti-austerity platform, Germany is standing fast.

Even with a new government in France, Europe's fiscal discipline pact is not up for negotiation, says German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"It is a basic approach in Europe that we do not change everything we have decided upon already after elections, whether in big or small countries," she said this week. "If that was the case, then we could not work in Europe."

Some say these are possible signs of turbulent times ahead for the European Union, with some calling into question the whole idea of European integration.

In this video report, CNN's Fred Pleitgen takes a look at how the current crisis may shape the EU.