Bundeskanzler Faymann wird nächste Woche mit Putin und Medwedjew über die Energieversorgung Europas sprechen. Zuvor reist er nach Berlin, wo der 20. Jahrestag des Mauerfalls gefeiert wird.
Mit einem Kurzbesuch in Russland betritt SP-Bundeskanzler Werner Faymann nächste Woche die Bühne der Weltpolitik. Der Kanzler wird mit dem russischen Regierungschef Wladimir Putin und Präsident Dmitrij Medwedjew vor allem die Energieversorgung und Energiesicherheit Europas, den österreichischen Vorsitz im Weltsicherheitsrat und auch bilaterale Fragen besprechen. APA, Foto von Galina Toktalieva

Galina Toktalieva für die Wiener Nachrichten  (Fotoreportage)

„Mit der Strache-FPÖ haben wir nichts gemeinsam – nicht in der Vergangenheit und nicht in der Zukunft“. So hat sich Bundeskanzler Werner Faymann (SPÖ) am Freitag in seiner Rede beim Maiaufmarsch der SPÖ auf dem Wiener Rathausplatz abgegrenzt.
“Wir haben ja immer gewusst, Wien ist die Nummer 1 in Hinblick auf die Lebensqualität in der Welt. Jetzt wissen es die anderen auch!”, betonte der Wiener Bürgermeister Michael Häupl unter großem Applaus. “Wir verteidigen diese schöne Stadt!” Insgesamt fanden sich laut SPÖ rund 100.000 Menschen auf dem Rathausplatz ein. Die dominierenden Themen der Reden waren Wirtschaftskrise, Null-Lohnrunde und Steuerreform.

Heinz-Christian Strache, du bist der beste Mann!

Die FPÖ feiert den 1. Mai traditionell in einem Bierzelt beim Jahrmarkt in Linz. Heuer nutzt die FPÖ die Maifeier für den EU-Wahlkampfauftakt.
Begleitet von lautstarken Gesängen des Publikums mit dem Text “Strache, du bist der beste Mann” stellte der FP-Chef seine Partei und deren Kandidaten als einzige Alternative bei der EU-Wahl.”Rache mit Strache ist möglich”, erklärte er.
Herr Strache sprach sich erneut gegen einen EU-Beitritt der Türkei aus. “Wir wollen ein christlich-europäisches Abendland bleiben und wollen keine Islamisierung in Europa.” Kritik kam auch am amerikanischen Präsidenten Barack Obama:”Wenn er so ein Fan der Türkei sei, solle er sie zum 51. Bundesstaat machen, die Einwanderer und die Kosten übernehmen”

In breaks we were eating together in dim canteen of education center in routine of our unemployment compulsory course. Dining hall was full of people.

Social control in form of compulsory education

It was steaming stewed cabbage, which melted in the mouth and reminded me of hearty soviet meals, which were but 200 times cheaper. My companion treated cabbage with great appetite. She was attractive woman of forty, with trim figure and regular face features, which together with her lively way, made her looking more of brown-eyed Gallic type, than woman from Vorarlberg. Like many others in my surroundings, Martha was very talkative and exploded now and then with distinctly articulated passages of eloquence. Relative longevity of German lexical units and typically loud manner of speaking with low, throat voice always increased my impression of Austrian vocalizations affluence.
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Österreich-Umfrage: 28% – SPÖ

Quotes about politics

Don’t fall in love with politicians, they’re all a disappointment. They can’t help it, they just are.

Peggy Noonan

It has now become the doctrine of a large class of politicians that political honesty is unnecessary and incompatible with quick onward movement.

Anthony Trollope

Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards. If you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book. Ronald Reagan

It was election campaign event in Vienna Stadthalle, which attracted thousands of people who expressed their support for social democrats prime candidate Werner Faymann.
I talked to a few ordinary persons who enjoyed themselves in buffet of concert hall during the speech of Werner Faymann looking at the screen of big monitor with his face, and all of them described Faymann as nice lad, at the same time all of them aware of the fact that nobody must take election promises of social democrats at earnest. My confidants also noticed that a lot of money was invested in this election campaign for rivers of beer, wine, sandwiches and souvenirs with expectations that Austrians would give their voices for those who once generously let them to become drunk.
All photographers were seized with mass psychosis of depicting and pursuing Werner Faymann. At the same time many others not less interesting figures of Austrian social democracy didn’t get sufficient attention they deserved.
Those who stay out of the circle of crowd’s blind admiration often look much more interesting without their usual protecting mask.
Personally for me, Gusenbauer presents more inner power, than Werner Faymann. Perhaps because he has much more experience.

Austria’s xenophobia
Alarm bells are sure to be ringing in Austria’s corridors of power following pressure from the United Nations for the country to improve its stand on the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers.
The committee criticises the “frequently xenophobic” handling of refugees and immigrants by parties. Speeches of some politicians are “hateful”, declared the UN.
The association also stated that the discrimination of minorities in daily life such as discrimination in the job market and with rental accommodation “are worrying”.Thomas Hochwarter, Austrian Times
Hindus have asked all minorities in Austria to stand up and vote in the June, 2009 elections to European Parliament.
Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that strong voting by minorities was even more important in this election because of persistent discrimination, racism and xenophobia against ethnic minorities and immigrants in European Union (EU).
A recent survey by EU Agency for Fundamental Rights revealed that “discrimination, harassment and racially motivated violence are far more widespread than recorded in official statistics”.

Chef of styrian social-democrats is for coalition with ÖVP
Styrian SPÖ Governor Franz Voves has spoken up in support of governing coalition with the ÖVP.
Voves said: “I was and I am a supporter of this coalition. I think that it is the best solution for the next five-ten years.”
Franz Voves – former ice-hockey national team player refused to comment on whether the SPÖ should continue such cooperation in case it fails to receive the most votes in the 28 September election. Voves dismissed talk about possible election outcomes as mere speculation at the moment. In contrast to some other SPÖ leaders, the 55-year-old Voves stressed the point that he would not exclude any party from talks about a possible coalition. Voves expects that the SPÖ will be number one on 28 September due to new SPÖ leader Werner Faymann, which has beén “fantastic” in Styria.Austrian Times.
Russian _Съёмка Вернера Файмана
Shooting with social-democrats leader Werner Faymann
Вначале я ринулась на пресс-конференцию „зелёных“, где оказалась единственным фотографом. Все репортёры караулили у дверей штаб-квартиры социалистов, когда появится Файман.
Лидер „зелёных“ – симпатичный пожилой дяденька в красной кофточке. Рядом восседает его соратник и партийный активист, которого я видела на манифестации „голубых“. (more…)

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