European elections: Europe is not a matter of religion

The daily Der Standard deplores that instead of concentrating on urgent EU matters the EU election campaign in Austria is dominated by the confrontation between Christianity and Islam: "The FPÖ [Freedom Party of Austria] set the tone by diabolically combining the two into a major campaign issue à la 'Cross against Turkey'. The blue campaign is a disgrace because it's based on lies and is unhistoric. But worse still is that the other parties are proving so inept at setting matters right in the voters' minds, at focusing the confrontation on the real agenda of political problems, at showing commitment to the EU. Unemployment, the environment, how to create a Union that is capable of governing, how to strengthen Europe instead of destroying it? These are not religious issues. But instead the ÖVP [Austrian People's Party] is offering a major Turkey pandemonium while the chancellor is resorting to the kind of harsh words ['hate preachers'] that up to now were the sole preserve of Islamist agitators against the West."

» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Austria, » Europe
All available articles from » Thomas Mayer

» To the complete press review of Monday, May 25, 2009