A Bit About Austria, and an Assortment of Some Especially Abominable Arseholes ...

We've not met (anything like even nearly), every individual example of evil, perverted extremist who ever existed.

Nor have we yet had the pleasure of encountering all this earth's Austrians. Even if we had, it would be seriously stupid to say something as silly as "They're all the sodding same." However, we can certainly say in all sincerity (and with our hands on our hearts) that, so far, we're still to meet one who we felt we could easily 'take to'.

Austria, still hobbled by its history

The country's old xenophobia has raised its head again. We can hardly be surprised

Austria is special.

Its tourist board will tell you that, as will the headlines on the infrequent occasions when the Alpine republic grabs global attention. One of those rare occasions happened this weekend: Austria's far-right parties scooped up 29 per cent of the votes between them in a general election, pushing them ahead of the conservative People's Party, and only just behind the Social Democrats.

The last time Austria was in the news was in April when Josef Fritzl was arrested for imprisoning his own daughter in a cellar and fathering her seven children. While it would be absurd to connect the horrifying Fritzl case directly to Austria's troubled politics, the fact that Fritzl blamed his behaviour on his harsh upbringing under the Third Reich shows that the country remains hobbled by its history

Read the rest of this regrettable report in today's (London) 'Times'.



Incidentally, we wonder who the sickening, soulless, shitty, Aryan Austrian arsehole Josef Fritzl, would have voted for?



Finally, we've forever found it to be uber-interesting that Austria's official, national coat of arms should show - all together - an eagle, a crown, a hammer, and a sickle.

*(Cross posted across at 'appletree')