Poem from Herman Hesse

Stufen

Wie jede Blüte welkt
und jede Jugend dem Alter weicht,
blüht jede Lebensstufe,
blüht jede Weisheit auch und jede Tugend
zu ihrer Zeit und darf nicht ewig dauern.
Es muss das Herz bei jedem Lebensrufe
bereit zum Abschied sein und Neubeginne,
um sich in Tapferkeit und ohne Trauern
in and’re, neue Bindungen zu geben.
Und jedem Anfang wohnt ein Zauber inne,
der uns beschützt und der uns hilft zu leben.
Wir sollen heiter Raum um Raum durchschreiten,
an keinem wie an einer Heimat hängen,
der Weltgeist will nicht fesseln uns und engen,
er will uns Stuf’ um Stufe heben, weiten! (more…)

Occasional walks in green area of Schmelz proved to be useful, because there I observed sheets of papers fixed to the lampposts. It was announcement of upcoming meeting with FPÖ leader H.Strache, and no additional info was available on Internet.
Around nine o’clock today Strache appeared in the gateway of Schutzhaus restaurant.
The private gathering, presented mostly by retired persons greeted him admirably.

Strache is extremely good-looking blue-eyed man with trim figure.
Once when I photographed him in Graz two years ago, something in his posture reminded me of Mussolini, how Duce was depicted by old film chronics.
Perhaps, sex with such a person could be enjoyable performance.
I heard Strache promised he would occupy Vienna mayor post after new elections in 2010.
I wanted to understand what makes Strache rather popular among Austrians.
May be popularity is something one can not control, but only constant years-long work gives chance to this miracle to happen.
As anybody else collecting political information, I come across constant reports about activities of Strache. One can sense his vibes.
What can be hardly said about others.
For example, when I lived in Graz I had impression that all Austria was dark red. Red as tomato.
Nowadays I hear nothing of persons who shared their incomes with poor to get chairs and corresponding salaries in Landtag.

Werner Faymann

The daily newspaper ÖSTERREICH published in its Sunday edition the results of recent survey on upcoming elections.

Survey predicts that for the first time seven parties of the country would enter the parliament. ÖVP gained 29% of voices, SPÖ – 25%. At the third place was the FPÖ with 15% of voters, being ahead of the Greens by one per cent. The BZÖ got 7%, Dinkhauser - 6%, and Liberal Forum - 4%.

In the election campaign barometer of ÖSTEREICH social democrat Werner Faymann is the leader. 38% of the Austrian voters have favorable impression of him. Alexander Van der Bellen of the Greens gains sympathies of 31% of voters and he is two points ahead of H.C. Strache from the FPÖ. ÖVP leader Wilhelm Molterer and Fritz Dinkhauser gained only 21% of supporters.

Translated from OTS News by Galina Toktalieva

Haider was a long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ). When he stepped down as party’s chairman in 2000, he remained its major figure until 2005. In April 2005 he founded a new party, the “Alliance for the Future of Austria” (BZÖ-Bündnis Zukunft Österreich)

Joerg Haider was born in 1950 in Bad Goisern, Upper Austria. His father Robert Haider worked as a shoemaker, his mother Dorothea Rupp was a teacher.

Both parents were active members of the Nazi Party. Robert Haider joined the ‘Hitler Jugend’ when he was fifteen. In 1933, after Nazi organisations were banned in Austria, he participated in several illegal actions. In 1934 he took part in the failed nazi putsch and was forced to flee to Bavaria, where he joined the nazi party. (more…)

Jörg Haider

Migration statistics Austria
International migration balance to and from Austria by citizenship 2000-2007
2000/Total 17 272 (Austrian citizens: -4 315; Foreign citizens:+21587)
2007/Total 32 714 (Austrian citizens: -5 509; Foreign citizens: +38 223);
38 223 foreign citizens migrated from abroad and settled in Austria in 2007,
and 20 464 Austrians left the country (it is minus 5 500 in total)
Statistics Austria. Compiled on 16 May 2008

Press conference with J. Haider and P. Westenthaler, 17.07.08