Welcome Austria
“Now tell me, how do you feel about religion?” In verse 3415, the very young Maragrete, who is being ensnared by the aging scholar Heinrich Faust, wants to know: Is Faust, the eponymous character in Goethe’s tragedy, a believing Christian or not? The person spoken to maneuvers around: “Stop that, my child! You feel I’m good to you”. As is well known, Faust made a deal with the devil: first Mephisto should bestow him with excess earthly happiness, and when the fun is over, his soul should belong to the devil.
Last Tuesday, a historical press release by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) startled the public. The former Secretary General in the Ministry of Finance, Thomas Schmid, unpacked in 15 hearings, it was learned. “Now tell me, how do you feel about the truth?” That’s the crucial question. Because a lot depends on your answer – for the ÖVP, for the government, in the end for the entire political system – the new profile cover story writes, the Editorial by Eva Linsinger and the history of the “Schamensfall Republik” in all the necessary detail.
As a bonus track you will receive an Opus Magnus online. Of course, it is not the Goethean, but the journalistic standard that applies. But Stefan Melichar and Michael Nikbakhsh could quickly fill one of those famous, yellow Reclam booklets that introduced generations of schoolchildren to Gretchen and Faust. “Welcome to the world of Thomas Schmid” is what the colleagues say Long read about the crazy confession of a fallen ÖVP man. It’s worth every minute to read.
If things go really well, in the not too distant future the current events will be classified as a political danger that has also come to the rescue: More transparency, a self-confident judiciary that can assume that it can work unhindered, reliable political personnel , drained swamps of corruption and – one can still dream – the end of the brazen, party-political post-hunting. In the worst case, it has proven itself once again for an ÖVP, who is currently under severe pressure, to play the persecuted innocence and to drive scapegoats through the country to distract voters.
This calculation certainly does not work out for democracy. This is also shown by a new sociological survey of Austria: Once a decade, social researchers from the Viennese company Integral map the country into ten living environments – called Sinus Milieus. Now it was once again time to revise this map. profil and courier provides an insight into the ten milieus that make up Austria today.
The pillars of society are shaking
Ironically, in the middle of society, from which trust in institutions and solid social cohesion should arise, the strong fault lines are evident. In no other milieu is the fear of “being lied to and manipulated from above” as deep as in the so-called “middle class”. When asked in March 2020 which party they trust to solve problems, 17 percent of the representatives of this milieu answered “not a single one”. A year later it is 37 percent. You can also read more about this – for example what has happened among the elite and which young milieus will shape the country in the future – in the new profile. And there is also that On-line numbers, data and facts on it.
In Goethe’s Faust, the titular hero’s obsession with power and insatiable greed recede somewhat. Gretchen’s mother, her brother and her child die. She herself is executed, but ultimately experiences greater justice. And finally Faust himself ascends into heaven. Here, of course, the analogy must return to the hard ground of reality in 2022 and to the mills of earthly justice. Thomas Schmid recommends himself as a key witness. Can you believe him?
I wish you stimulating reading and a good start into the new week,
Edith Meinhart