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.
Explore more
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
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Huge anti-Russian protests in Tbilisi echo Ukraine’s Maidan
A turn away from the EU plunges Georgia into crisis
France’s government faces the imminent loss of a vote of confidence
Michel Barnier, the prime minister, has failed to get his budget through parliament
How Ukraine uses cheap AI-guided drones to deadly effect against Russia
Ukraine is making tens of thousands of them
Emmanuel Macron shows off the gloriously restored Notre Dame
Five years after it was gutted by fire, the cathedral is more beautiful than ever
Ursula von der Leyen has a new doctrine for handling the hard right
The boss of the European Commission embarks on a second term
Marine Le Pen spooks the bond markets
She threatens to bring down the French government, but also faces a possible ban from politics