"Krone" commentary

Good humor alone is no longer enough

Analyzed for the "Krone": domestic policy expert Claus Pándi

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

The occasions for toasts are approaching again. "May things never get worse for us!" is one of those Austrian sayings that people toast at all times. In the better times as well as the worse. We Austrians are pretty resilient in that respect.

Speaking of resilient: The new government's negotiators spent days talking about deficits, consolidation and the budget. In other words, how many billions the state has to save. And the good people nodded and thought to themselves: well, no wonder after the costly mistakes in economic policy. Nobody ever believed in the Chancellor's miracle cake anyway. But would anyone at least now have confident plans for Austria?

If things can no longer continue as before, as Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) likes to say, what is to become of Austria?

An Alpine Disneyland for rich holidaymakers from all over the world? A high-tax country? A country of emigration? A museum for old cars? A nature trail for early retirees? A paradise for civil servants?

Austria is unlikely to become a new Silicon Valley. The young Eastern Europeans have left us behind in this area. The world's gold is already in Switzerland. The great universities have long been in Asia and the Arab world.

So far we have managed to get by with good humor. Unfortunately, this will not be enough if Austria wants to be more than a service provider for the globally successful elite.