Questionable solution to place-name dispute

The dispute over German-Slovenian place-name signs in the Austrian state of Carinthia has come to a provisional end after 56 years. 164 bilingual signs will be erected in the 24 localities with partially Slovenian populations. The daily Delo nonetheless takes a dim view of the agreement: "An agreement was reached on the number of signs ... but not on funding for bilingual schools, daycare facilities or the music academy. Yet this minority was instrumental in pushing through a treaty in Hitler's home state ... one however whose Paragraph Seven was not formulated clearly enough as far as the minority is concerned. With few exceptions, generations of anti-Slovenian Carinthians have pursued a policy of divisiveness and decimated Austria's Slovenian minority. If the Austrian signatories of this treaty really believe in the benefits of multilingualism and multinationalism, they must not maliciously scrimp and save on everything that could lead to a true blossoming of this community."

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