Yesterday saw the turning point in Central Europe. In Vienna there were the first three confirmed infections of the virus. The first of these concerned a 72-year-old man who had been in the hospital with flu symptoms for ten days. Three departments in this hospital were then blocked and the man was transferred to the … Continue reading Corona in Austria – Day 4
Tag: austria
Corona in Austria – Day 3
Yesterday afternoon German health minister Jens Spahn went public and declared the spread of the corona virus in Germany to be the beginning of an epidemic. "Unfortunately, the situation has changed in the past few hours." By then, more than twenty people had been infected with the virus, including an Air Force soldier. In the … Continue reading Corona in Austria – Day 3
Corona in Austria – Day 2
Today, the New York Times reports: "Global markets slide as corona virus threat hangs over world economy." In Austria, the responsible politicians are trying to calm the population down: "There is no need to panic, but..." Yesterday we saw special broadcasts in the public television, even the most watched program of the past decades, the … Continue reading Corona in Austria – Day 2
Corona in Austria – Day 1
Today the Corona virus has arrived in Austria. This SARS virus, with its disease named Covid-19, broke out in Wuhan in the Chinese province of Hubei in early December and has spread throughout the world in recent weeks. Yesterday there were 80,190 people on Earth who were demonstrably infected, 77,658 of them in the People's … Continue reading Corona in Austria – Day 1
Negative interest rates
Dear Beate Meinl-Reisinger! I am very impressed of the NEOS policy under your chair. Precisely because I strongly agree with your political approaches, I would like to contradict you on one crucial point: in your economic policy. (Article by Beate Meinl-Reisinger in the "Wiener Zeitung" on Feb 11th, 2020: https://beatemeinl.com/2020/02/11/fortfuehrung-der-faymannschen-reformverweigung/) You are writing that "people … Continue reading Negative interest rates
Home
You know, Anton Pavlovich, I grew up in Döbling, the 19th district of Vienna. Armbrustergasse is a few hundred meters from my parents' house. At that time Federal Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, the head of our government, lived in this alley. Every time we drove to our house in Klosterneuburg in the north of Vienna, we … Continue reading Home
Social Democrats then and now
In 1973, the Austrian federal government under Chancellor Bruno Kreisky introduced value added tax in Austria. The socialist finance minister Hannes Androsch opts for a tax rate of 16% (reduced 8%). The tax is levied on all products. The population is fully informed. Today the tax rate is 20% (reduced 10%) on all goods and … Continue reading Social Democrats then and now
Explain Communism to us!
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the 'Velvet Revolution' in former Czechoslovakia the Slovak author Tomáš Ulej asks in his gloss: "How and when will you finally explain communism to us?" When the 'Iron Curtain' broke down Tomáš Ulej was two years old. Today he exercises his running trainings on the former death … Continue reading Explain Communism to us!
who needs social-democrats?
last sunday austria held its national parliamentary elections. the results were regarded as "paradox" by observers, some were even left "clueless". first of all, the outcome showed three winners and three losers: the first winner was the center-right people's party (övp) lead by their young former chancellor sebastian kurz (+5,9%). the second winners were the … Continue reading who needs social-democrats?
unsere staatskrise
herrn klubobmann dr. walter rosenkranz fpö-parlamentsklub at-1010 wien wien, 21.05.2019 16:48 sehr geehrter herr klubobmann, lieber walter rosenkranz! sie wissen, dass ich sie schätze. ich schätze sie wegen ihrer klugheit, ihrer integrität und ihres mutes, kurz gesagt wegen ihres herzens und ihres hirns. sie wissen auch, dass mir ihre partei von allen parlamentsparteien am wenigsten … Continue reading unsere staatskrise
Vienna Calling 