By Daniel Spichtinger

What kind of people are courting our votes in the upcoming European parliamentary elections? Are they old or young? Running for the first time or already established? Men and Women? How have they previously voted in the European Parliament? Are they more loyal to their political group or to other MEPs from Austria? These are the questions we are trying to answer in our assessment.

A comprehensive exhibition at the Belvedere reveals the many facets of this Czech artist

By Daniel Spichtinger.

Born in Moravia (today part of the Czech Republic) the Czech Art Nouveau painter Alphonse Maria Mucha (1860-1939) is best known for his posters immortalizing the performances of the famous French actress Sarah Bernhardt, which were created during his Paris period. These works, including the ads for Gismonda and Medea are on prominent display in the exhibition of Mucha’s work in Vienna’s Belvedere. However, the exhibition goes far beyond these iconographic posters and displays exhibits that are less known but equally beautiful. They range from the very small – like jewellery designed according to his specifications – to the monumental, like the pavilion for Bosnia-Herzegovina which he decorated for the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris.

Youngsters and political experts discussed the future of the European Union

By Verena Schiefer. Translated by Stefan Fersterer and Alexandra Skwara.

The Austrian Euro-scepticism cannot be considered  a well-kept secret. A person transforms into the star of  business small talk and the hero of regulars’ tables as soon as he/she rails against “those people in Brussels” and shows an indifference towards  common European policies. Moreover, you will never run out of topics of conversation since there is always something to complain about.

The panel discussion “With drive for Europe” ("Mit Schwung für Europa", an event organized by the Austrian public TV channel ORF and the newspaper STANDARD) aimed to listen to  youngsters’ attitudes towards the EU and to get a sense of their primary questions and contents. The Austrian Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU-Commissioner for External Relations, and the political scientist Peter Filzmaier responded to the critical questions of young panal participants and the audience.