Austria: national mourning after gunman kills ten
Austria has declared three days of national mourning after a 21-year-old former student fatally shot eight pupils and a teacher at his old high school in Graz, later taking his own life. A…
Austria: coalition government talks collapse
Talks to form Austria’s first far-right-led coalition collapsed after negotiations between the Freedom Party (FPO) and the conservative People’s Party (OVP) failed. The FPO, which won the most votes in September’s election, has…
Austria: far-right politician is the man to beat
Herbert Kickl, the far-right leader of Austria’s Freedom Party (FPO), is the man to beat in the parliamentary election on 29 September despite being one of the country’s least popular politicians. Known for…
Germany / Austria: three alleged Russian spies arrested
Two alleged spies, dual German-Russian nationals, have been arrested in Bavaria for suspected espionage related to sabotaging German military aid for Ukraine. The main suspect, Dieter S, is accused of various offences, including…
Austria: Russian video scandal
On 18 May Austria's vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resigned after German media published a video that purportedly showed him offering government contracts to a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch, in…
Killer winter storms
Brutal winter weather is battering Europe, with ‘significant and disruptive’ snow forecast to continue for up to two weeks. Snow trapped hundreds in Alpine regions, caused avalanches and flight delays, and worst of…
Europe - Blasphemy laws
Islam, Christianity, and Free Speech We think of Europe as secular, progressive, and confidently post-religious. But try criticizing Islam. Should governments be in the business of protecting people’s feelings? Most Americans, I think…
Europe not coping with mass migration
Not only does Europe continue to fragment as anti-migration views gain political force, but because of the migration crisis, the EU's internal border-free zone, Europe's most precious possession after World War II, ‘is…
Austria & Germany: Coalitions
Austrian far-right Party, FPO is talking with conservative party, OVP, and people have been protesting against the administration including FPO. FPO had led in the polls for two years - then Mr Kurz…
Austria: election result
The commanding victory of populist parties in the national election will reverberate beyond Austria. Sebastian Kurz, when foreign minister, closed routes through the Balkans for immigrants, and his party spearheaded laws banning full-face…
