The Revolution Will Be Televised
It was perhaps the Austrian broadcasting corporation’s (ORF) biggest hit: Launched before Christmas, the reality TV show “Who Wants To Be A Media Exec?” kept audiences in Austria – and even Germany – under a spell until 18 Jan., when their favourite candidate, the dashing and dastardly Nikolaus Pelinka, quit the show saying he no longer tolerated [...]
Croatia-EU: Questions Remain
A popular TV series cuts to an ad: A young Croatian family in a car, meandering through the idyllic Tuscan landscape. At a crossroads, they ask two carabinieri for directions. When the police officers realise where the lost travellers are from, one of them starts gushing about how the Croatian prosciutto is better than the Italian – [...]
Helmut Schüller’s Call to Disobedience
The small, single-nave church slowly empties, as parishioners pile out into the wintry, bright Sunday morning. Like most weeks, the 12th century Romanesque church of Probstdorf, a farming village a 45 minute drive east from Vienna, had been almost full. “I’ve come from the neighbouring village,” says a woman in her mid-40s. “I don’t like [...]
For Gigolos in Croatia, Business Is Booming
“You know, it wouldn’t be a half-bad idea for us to meet on the beach so you can get a better idea of what I look like,” says the deep, masculine voice on the other end of the phone. “You’ll recognise me easily: I’m tall, moderately muscled, with short brown hair. I’ll be in a [...]
Saudi Money with Strings Attached
While a duo of lute and violin played a solemn tune accompanying an Arabic song, Austria’s foreign minister Michael Spindelegger leaned over to say something to the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Alfaisal. That was all it took. Suddenly, the music was lost in a cacophony of flashing cameras and clicking shutters. Indeed, this was [...]
Foreign Spouse
Alan had a comfortable life working as a manager for a packing company in Mexico City, earning the equivalent of €3,500 a month. As a young engineer, he was building a successful career doing what he loved most. Then, one night at a trendy club in an exclusive neighbourhood, he met a striking young woman [...]
Occupy Vienna: Global Revolution Hits Home
Emerging from the escalator at the Westbahnhof U-Bahn station, the crowd surged forward, carrying us directly into the swelling group of activists-. “We’re gonna make this change in peaceful way,” a male voice boomed in German, as scattered shouts urged him on. “We will take a stand! We will not be forgotten, overlooked or overheard! [...]
In Vienna: A Prophet of Hope
On 14 Oct., a Friday evening, there was not a single spare seat in the council chamber of the Austrian Parliament. But it wasn’t politicians. Instead-, the chamber was occupied by a very mixed public audience – ranging from elegantly coiffed society ladies to flat-capped young hipsters. They’d come to hear the words of 94-year-old [...]
Women Go West
Although she celebrated her 29th birthday only a week ago, Alina looks as if she is in her forties. Her straggly hair, bitten nails and swollen, constantly blinking eyes do her no favours and give the impression of a haunted person. “All he needs to do is to make sure the girls are clean, fed [...]
