ABS News November 2024

Editorial
Presidential Message
ABS Events October 2024: Reviews and Photos
ABS Events Nov. 2024: Upcoming Events
ABS Blog: An Actual View On The Ukraine
Special Essay: Sir Keir Starmer's First 100 Days
Book Recommendation: The Thursday Murder Club
The Last Page

Dear Members and Friends of the ABS,

One distinct advantage of the British way of life is the relaxed and respectful attitude towards leisure time and personal space. They cultivate a unique culture of serenity, whether enjoying a cup of tea or upholding traditions such as the Sunday roast with family and friends. This lifestyle not only supports mental well-being but also creates a pleasant social environment where politeness and consideration are highly valued. It makes everyday life more harmonious and strengthens interpersonal relationships.

We have the opportunity to adopt these virtues into our Continental European lives. The more challenging the times - whether in the broader global or economic environment or through very personal challenges - the more essential it becomes to explore ways to promote our mental health and well-being. In November, the ABS is helping to explore some of these aspects, for example, through events focused on stylish clothing. We hope you enjoy a wonderful November with all that the ABS has to offer.

Warm regards,

Yours Jochen Ressel,

ABS Secretary General & ABS News Editor-in-Chief

PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE

“Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”

This quote comes from a professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington and can often be observed in politics, economics, and even in private life. Politically, Austria is facing significant challenges and is under pressure to manage the diverse crises we are currently experiencing. Moreover, the upcoming and necessary process of forming a government, due to an obvious deadlock following the national elections, is not an easy task.

Nevertheless, in a functioning democracy, these are challenges that can always be solved with the goodwill of all parties involved. We are fortunate in Austria to live in a free democracy, something we cannot appreciate enough. According to a report, only 24 out of over 200 countries worldwide have reached the level of a fully functioning democracy. These democratic countries have a proper separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches, a valid system of state oversight, an independent judiciary whose rulings are enforced, as well as independent and diverse media.

Therefore, in political discussions, both at home and abroad, it is important to consider the level of democratic development in the respective country, and to appreciate how fortunate we are to live in Austria.

Best wishes,

Prof KR Dr Kurt Tiroch
ABS President

ABS EVENTS OCTOBER 2024

OCTOBER 2, 2024: HANS BÜRGER - ORF JOURNALIST

ANALYSIS OF THE GENERAL ELECTION IN AUSTRIA

Just days after the general elections, Hans Bürger provided us with a highly engaging evening filled with insights into what can unfold in the aftermath of elections. Here’s a summary of this special event (in German): CLICK HERE!

OCTOBER 5, 2024: OKTOBERFEST

BERMUDA BRÄU, VIENNA

Not only is it Oktoberfest season in Munich, but we also celebrate in Vienna - alongside the Austro-British Society. Find all the event details here (in German): CLICK HERE!

OCTOBER 21, 2024: DR. BERND CHRISTOPH STRÖHM

"THE WEST BALKANS TORN BETWEEN THE EU, CHINA, AND RUSSIA"

This insightful event offered us a deep understanding of the complex geopolitical dynamics affecting Austria’s neighbourhood in South-Eastern Europe. Learn more by CLICKING HERE!

ABS EVENTS NOVEMBER 2024

The Fireworks Continue

Despite the many wonderful events we’ve held in 2024 (at a very moderate membership fee, we might add), we’re heading into the end of the year with great enthusiasm. We look forward to seeing many of you, our esteemed members, at our upcoming events!

November 4, 2024:

Mode und Handel im Wandel - 135 Jahre Popp & Kretschmer
Invitation in your email inbox!

November 14, 2024:

Lena Hoschek's "The Scots" Collection
Invitation in your email inbox!

ANOTHER ABS BLOG ARTICLE

An Actual View On The Ukraine

Almost daily, the media reports on the ongoing war in Ukraine, but it can be challenging to distil useful information that provides a comprehensive understanding of the overall situation. This ABS Blog article, authored by former Ambassador Colin A. Munro, sheds light on the complexities. Read here:

Sir Keir Starmer's First 100 Days

You will read this blog after Rachel Reeves, the first female Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister), has presented the new government’s first budget. She has been promising one for “strivers”, hard working people who will not have to pay higher taxes. So, where is the money to come from:

to rescue the “broken” (to quote Health Minister Wes Streeting) National Health Service;
to repair crumbling school buildings built on the cheap with aerated concrete;
to reward underpaid public sector workers, for example in the social care sector;
to fill the GBP22bn “black hole” in the public finances bequeathed by 14 years of “Tory austerity and misrule”.

Her answer is:

from tax rises, but not income tax, VAT, or employees’ National Insurance contributions;
from more borrowing, but only for investment – of course;
from axing some public spending, e.g. on roads, always a favourite of Treasury bean counters.

Above all, from economic growth, possible if the Bank of England lowers interest rates. The government wants to “reset” relations with the EU, without however, returning to the Single Market or Customs Union, steps which really would boost growth. Brexit has been (to quote SNP MP Stephen Gethins) “disastrous for the UK economy and wider society.”

The Labour government has a massive majority in the House of Commons based on 33.7% of the popular vote. Fair enough perhaps, given that the Conservative share of the vote fell by 20% on 4 July compared with Boris Johnson’s “Get Brexit Done” victory in December 2019.

A verdict after 100 days, has been a benchmark of progress since Roosevelt promised at his inauguration in March 1933, a “New Deal”, with measures to jump start the US economy out of the disastrous depression. So, how does the Prime Minister think he has been getting on in his first 100 days? Growth is his declared No 1 “mission”. He has announced that he aims to “fix the foundations” of the British state, another long-term objective. Meanwhile, public sector strikes have been ended, by relatively generous pay rises. A de facto ban on onshore wind has been removed, and a national energy production company has been established. The railways are to be brought back into public ownership. There should be free breakfast clubs in English schools. There will be a liberalised planning regime to promote house building. (There is a massive shortage in London and the south east of England.) The government has fulfilled its manifesto promise to introduce a new package of workers’ rights. No asylum seekers will be sent to Rwanda. However, the government is not making progress on returns agreements with EU member states. It is continuing with the early release of prisoners from England’s crammed and decrepit prisons.

What does the great British public think of Sir Keir Starmer?

Boris Johnson thinks he is “Captain Crasheroonie Snoozefest”. That is to say boring and makes mistakes. The Prime Minister’s approval ratings have certainly tumbled. He has admitted to accepting freebies from wealthy donors, including suits, spectacles, a personal shopper for his wife, and tickets for the Directors’ Box at Arsenal football club. In view of his ruthlessly efficient purge of the Labour Party’s Corbynista wing after the disastrous defeat in 2019, he was expected to hit the ground running in government. He had recruited a senior civil servant, Sue Gray, a Partygate scourge of Boris Johnson, for that purpose. But then, it turned out that she was paid more than he was. She has been sidelined. The Tory media (although the editor of the Daily Mail gets paid much more than the PM) were up in arms. Political Advisers – more numerous than in my time – were jostling for influence, and offices close to the PM in No 10 Downing Street. Keir Starmer had built a machine for winning the election, but not one to convey a convincing narrative in government.

And then, before the budget, Rachel Reeves announced stopping tax free winter fuel payments (of between GBP200 and GBP300 per person) for all but the poorest pensioners. This is not a well targeted benefit. I found it impossible to return mine. But soon there were howls of protest about freezing pensioners. The money saved does seem out of all proportion to the political damage. The public is thus taking a jaundiced view of Sir Keir’s first 100 days, although Labour still leads the ever more populist Conservatives in the opinion polls.

Harold MacMillan, who steadied the ship of state after the Suez disaster (1956 - he had originally supported the invasion), and won a convincing victory three years later, said that government was about dealing with, “events, dear boy, events.” A month after the election three girls were knifed to death at a Taylor Swift themed dance class. The populist anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant fraternity seized on this event for violent demonstrations and assaults on hotels housing asylum seekers. Initially the identity of the attacker could not be revealed as he was just short of his 18th birthday. But then he was revealed as autistic, born in Cardiff to parents of Rwandan, but not Muslim origin. Sir Keir Starmer, as a former Director of Public Prosecutions under Theresa May, was in his element. He organised efficient and summary justice, including long prison sentences for the ring leaders, and speeded up early release of prisoners to make room for them.

Guardian columnist Martin Kettle, has drawn attention to Sir Keir Starmer’s credo, i.e. guiding principle: the rule of law. He has appointed as Attorney General, Richard (now Lord) Hermer, a disciple of the late Lord Chief Justice, Sir Thomas Bingham, whose book on the Rule of Law is the definitive text in English on the separation of powers. Starmer’s government will not attempt to sideline the courts or breach the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). Unlike the Conservatives, whose new leader will be announced on 2 November. One of the two finalists, Robert Jenrick, has announced, that at the next election, under his leadership, every Conservative candidate would have to commit to withdrawal from the ECHR, placing the UK in company with Russia, Belarus, and the Vatican.

This government should survive its rocky start without serious challenge. But of course, there will be more “events”.

By Colin A. Munro

The Thursday Murder Club

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders. But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late?

The Times Crime Book of the Month
Guardian Best Crime and Thrillers

In case members haven’t discovered this gem, it’s filled with British humour, what we might call "soft crime." The story reminds us not to underestimate this group of former baby boomers transitioning into their golden years... Intrigued? CLICK HERE

A recommendation by Melanie Sully