Many Austrians feel their way of life is under threat
The Viennese are still waltzing, but they fret that the music may soon be stopping
Una Isola felice, a happy island, is how Pope Paul VI called Austria in 1971 during a visit of the country’s then president to the Vatican. In later years the pope’s dictum became Die Insel der Seligen, the island of the blessed, to describe the picturesque Alpine republic that is garlanded with a generous welfare state, the Habsburg empire’s rich cultural heritage, Kaiserschmarrn and other scrumptious foods, and some of the finest classical music in the world.
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The Viennese are still waltzing ”
Europe January 27th 2024
- Giorgia Meloni has proved the doubters wrong
- Germany strikes a brave new deal on immigration
- Geert Wilders makes a show of respecting the law
- Many Austrians feel their way of life is under threat
- Europe’s new plan to safeguard its economy
- The EU’s €50bn package for Ukraine is a far cry from its rhetoric
From the January 27th 2024 edition
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