Deutsch
English
FrançaisSub menu: Home
Home / Index of Authors
Ortner, Christian
2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
A grand coalition for Austria?
"Yesterday Austrian voters, like their German counterparts in 2005, tried to vote reality out of office," Christian Ortner notes in a guest commentary. "Presumably the unexpected strength of the Austrian and German Social Democrats reveals a deeper political structure in Europe that transcends national particularities. It would seem that in addition to all the local factors that play a role in voting behaviour there is a considerable number of voters who perceive globalisation, with all its facets (immigration, the fear of losing one's job, the need to reform the social budget), as a massive personal threat. They therefore yearn for policies which promise less market, less competition, less effort and more security, more social safety nets and more protection against the intensifying global competition for jobs and income. And, if possible, that the 'the rich' should pay for it all."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Austria
The Austrian government rescues Bawag
Christian Ortner comments on the scandal around the union-owned Bawag Bank, which until now has been rescued from bankruptcy only by intervention the of the Austrian government. In his opinion there were good reasons for the government saving the bank, but "by making sure banks can't go bankrupt, the state is encouraging the managers to indulge in just the kind of behaviour that sometimes brings banks to the brink of bankruptcy. Naturally, in view of the uncontrollable consequences of a bank going bankrupt, we can consider this the lesser evil. Yet it remains an evil which could be endlessly repeated. The fact that Bawag has escaped bankruptcy won't exactly have a deterring effect on the next generation."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Corporations, » Austria
© 2005-2012