Business
The Way the World Works: Economics vs. Reality
Here: A cost-of-living-crisis in England, the US, some parts of Europe, because energy prices have risen by around 50% and cost-of-living index by ar...
Coronavirus
Latest on Omicron: Europe Facing Rising Infection Rates in Most Countries
Metropole brings you regular COVID-19 update from Prof. Dr. Florian Krammer, an Austrian virologist who works and teaches at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City.
Features
The Ongoing Controversy Over Austrofascism, Explained
An explanation of the complicated history behind a small museum, the new interior minister and the collective memory of Austrofascism.
News
GUEST ANALYSIS: What Sebastian Kurz Did – And Didn’t – Do For The ÖVP
Under Kurz, the ÖVP’s success was so unprecedented that the party appeared inseparable from him. That was an illusion.
Coronavirus
Get Your Booster Shot Now!
On Sunday, Metropole brings you a COVID-19 update from Prof. Dr. Florian Krammer, an Austrian virologist who works and teaches at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City.
News
GRUMPY OPINION: Down With The Hallowieners!
Not everyone in Austria loves Halloween. As editor Binu Starnegg a.k.a. Grumpy McPartypooper would like to explain.
News
Janez Janša Keeps Eroding Media Freedom in Slovenia as Country Takes Over EU Presidency
The Slovenian government of Prime Minister Janez Janša is overseeing an increasingly systematic effort to undermine critical media, a coalition of press freedom organisations and journalism groups warn today in a new report.
Opinion
When Language Meets Identity Politics
As we see more gender fluidity in society, the discussion surrounding
pronouns they choose to use adds further scrutiny to an already marginalized group
City Life
Capital Offense
When it comes to the supposed inferiority of Austria’s provinces, the Viennese don’t mince words – but being a provincial in the big city also has its advantages.
Opinion
Arnold Suppan on the Treaties of Saint-Germain & Trianon
Settled behind closed doors a century ago, these devastating treaties were greeted with celebratory gunfire across France, leaving Central Europe in tatters and echoes of disharmony across the continent.
Bulgarian in Vienna
A Country of Networkers
Community Lead Pavel Naydenov introduces Vienna's Bulgarian community, the focus of this month's Home Is Where the Herz Is issue.
Features
“The Hungary Model” – Illiberal Tactics for Weakening Independent Media
Press freedom in Central Europe is under renewed threat. Yet there are no systematic arrests of journalists as in Belarus or Turkey, less of the blatant acts of censorship common in Russia and few of the gruesome killings of reporters that are common in autocratic countries around the world. Instead, they are now following the Hungary model.
Features
Mayday, Mayday! Austrian Democracy in Danger!
As criticism and corruption allegations pile up against his administration, the biggest cause for concern is Sebastian Kurz’s deliberate attempts to undermine the nation’s checks and balances.
Opinion
Transparency Requires Civil Courage
With the dismantling of Official Secrecy Laws in Austria, real transformation will require a change of culture.
Features
BioNTech: Stop Talking About Their ‘Migration Background’
What at first sounds like a compliment, in fact, builds a mental frame separating immigrants from everybody else, when such backgrounds have become a self-evident part of our lives.
German in Vienna
Being German in Vienna
Community Lead Vera Gasber introduces Vienna's German community, the largest immigrant group in the city, and the star of this month's 'Home is Where the Herz Is' issue.
Coronavirus
CEE – The Coronavirus Has Revealed Central Europe’s Chaotic Governance
What remains of public trust in the state is vanishing rapidly as the coronavirus roars back into the region.
Opinion
What Europe Can Learn From Joe Biden’s Victory
There are lessons we can draw from Biden's election that can help the European Union better deal with far-right populism.
Culture
Protected: Happy Birthday, Ludwig van Beethoven!
This year we celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday. This brand-new video series takes you on a musical pilgrimage through Beethoven’s Vienna.
Features
I Serb, Therefore I am
Publication Lead Alexandra-Anna Panić introduces Vienna's Serbian community, the focus of this month's Home Is Where the Herz Is issue.
Fall 2020
What “Rule of Law” Means Since the EU Budget Summit
On the surface, the EU budget summit smoothed over the friction between Brussels and the bloc’s problem children. Deeper down, the rift may be growing.
Features
Planting Polish Roots in Vienna
From the outlook on Kahlenberg, most people look down over the Vienna skyline, picking out buildings they recognize and admiring the majestic view. Poles do that as well, but they see more.
Fall 2020
Should Fashion Seek Diversity?
“Inclusive sizing” and “disabled-friendly” clothing have joined the buzzwords of conscious consumerism. Does this make sense for an industry built on the allure of unattainability? What is beauty anyway?
Opinion
Integration and Identity – Who is a “Real” Austrian?
On the eve of the Vienna mayoral elections, questions of voting rights and double citizenship – of Heritage and 'Heimat' – are again dominating the agenda.
Opinion
I’m an Austrian Who Can’t Live in Austria
With a life both in the U.S. and Vienna, Gabriel Foguel wants dual citizenship, but the Austrian government won’t allow it.
Opinion
Let the People Vote!
In Austria, every 5th person over 16 cannot vote, in Vienna, every 3rd. For democracy to flourish, we need to make these voices heard.
Home is where the Herz is
Hungarians and Vienna – a Match Made in Heaven That Has Endured for Centuries
Vienna has been the closest and most accessible heaven on earth for Hungarians for centuries.
Fall 2020
How Disease Detectives Help Us Beat COVID-19 By Tracking Superspreaders
The crucial role of public health and contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Opinion
How Austria Has – and Hasn’t – Changed
The British Ambassador to Austria, Leigh Turner, takes stock of how Vienna has and hasn’t changed since his first posting to the city in the 1980s.
Opinion
I’m Viennese and I can’t vote here
Our publisher and CEO has been living in Vienna for 24 years but she can’t vote in the city she calls home. Time to change that.
Home is where the Herz is
At Home in Vienna, Romanian at Heart
We kick off our new reportage series “Home is where the Herz is” with a heartfelt essay about Romanian Vienna.
Opinion
Who Protects Women from Domestic Violence?
Under COVID-19 lockdown, domestic violence has predictably gone up. Intervention helps.
Opinion
During the Corona Crisis, a Fiat Can Become a Critical Food Pipeline
COVID-induced creative charity or how the boot of a Fiat became a critical food pipeline.
Opinion
Why the EU Recovery Fund Is a Big Deal – for Europe & for the Climate
The recent budget-corona negotiations could lead to the creation of a fiscal union and a greater emphasis on sustainability.
Coronavirus
Central Europe Beat COVID-19 – Will Their Democracies Survive?
Like other “black swan” events in the past, COVID-19 has challenged
our democracies and changed the way we live.
Opinion
Poland: Homophobia and TV-Propaganda Secured Andrzej Duda’s Reelection
While the right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS) remains in power, opposition candidate Rafał Trzaskowski has forced the president to take notice.
Coronavirus
Lessons of the Pandemic | Italy, America, and Covid-19
The crisis has revealed us – for better and worse – to ourselves; the question now is what we will do next.
Opinion
Liberal Freedom and Its Flip Side
The renewed struggle against discrimination is really two struggles: one about rights, the other about opinion.
Opinion
Traditional Brand Icons and the New Sensitivities of Race
The worldwide Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has now spilled over onto the supermarket shelves. A look at Austria’s own racially problematic icons.
Coronavirus
An Easter Sunday in the Prater
This spring is different. A report from a Styrian in Vienna, as we all stay together apart.
Coronavirus
Living Through the Pandemic in the World’s Most Livable City
A public international lawyer with 25 years at the UN recounts her experience of living through the pandemic in Vienna.
Opinion
HERSTORY – Metropole x Women of Vienna
Zilla Boyer a political scientist, campaigner and pod-cast creator who joined WoV in search of adventure when she relocated here almost three years ago.
Coronavirus
Coronavirus | An Opportunity for Global Governance Reform
How to make the April 5 International Day of Conscience really mean something.
Opinion
Opinion | What if Foreigners Had Voting Rights?
Having two homes is confusing, and the choice between convenience and (fragile) ideology, even more so.
General
Pro & Con | Winter 2019
The Still of the Night
by Dardis McNamee
Some come to Vienna wishing it were Rome or Madrid, bistro nights in Trestevere, or partying on t...
Opinion
Should the Viennese Really Take that Much Pride in Being Unfriendly?
No one can say Vienna is a sore loser. After Austrian media picked up the Expat Insider study’s City Index ranking Vienna the second least friendly city for expats, the “news” spread like wildfire.
HERSTORY – Metropole x Women of Vienna
In this series, METROPOLE partners up with the Women of Vienna network to bridge communities and celebrate diversity, introducing some of their incredible members and bringing you a slice of Herstory.
Opinion
From Yesterday to Today
With Turkish bombs falling on Kurdish cities in Northeast Syria, a young woman from Rojava tells the story of her town and people
Opinion
Maria Theresia Is to Blame
In September, over 220,000 Viennese students went back to school. Some go willingly, some have to be dragged, but Austrian parents have a stock response to unwilling schoolgoers: Blame Maria Theresa
Opinion
Democracy’s Second Wind in CEE
METROPOLE and GLOBSEC will be cooperating on a range of activities, initiatives and events in the upcoming months to promote democracy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)
Opinion
Opinion | Brigitte Bierlein – Cleaning up After the Men
Come the hour, come the woman. Leading the interim government was going to be a tough gig, but she was ready.
Opinion
The Choice for Europe
Amid foreign efforts to undermine Western democracy, decisive questions increasingly can only be addressed in Brussels.
So here we are, at press...
Opinion
The Caretakers Go About Their Business
The interim government of bureaucrats is giving Austria far more than its first female Chancellor
Opinion
Closing KAICIID, Silencing Dialogue
Author and activist Heather Wokusch who has partnered with KAICIID takes on the Austrian Parliament’s decision to close the interreligious center in Vienna
Opinion
17 Million Mobile EU Citizens Deserve a Political Voice
Those of us who reside in another member state live more “European” lives than anyone. Yet we feel disenfranchised.
Opinion
Pro & Con | June 2019
The EU plans to abolish daylight savings time in 2021. A good idea?
Time for Change
Good riddance, I say! The benefits of Daylight Saving Time (DST) h...
Opinion
The Choice for Europe Ⓜ️
So here we are, at press time, with Austria’s governing coalition deservedly in tatters. After the release of a fatally compromising video the far-right vice chancellor H.C. Strache has been shown the door.
Opinion
Trojan Dragon?
Austria is likely to benefit from the New Silk Road, the mammoth Chinese infrastructure project spanning two continents. But strategic thinkers in Was...
Opinion
The Price of Independence
The FPÖ would like nothing better than to hobble the independence of Austria’s public broadcaster, the ORF. Now Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian ...
Opinion
Pro & Con | March 2019
Open Store Policy
Closing shops on Sunday is so 19th century
Every time I welcome someone to Vienna and give them my lis...
Opinion
Growth and Its Discontents
Central Europe has experienced a soaring economy in the last two decades. Yet the disaffection of many shows the limits of what economic growth a...
Opinion
The US Midterms and the Consequences for Europe
The world has watched the US midterm elections spellbound. But for Europe, even the Democratic victory in the house of representative might not bring ...
Opinion
A Flatlander’s Lament
What is it like to have fear of heights in a mountainous country? Austrians have absolutely no understanding for this. So how to get over it? By sucki...
Opinion
Kurz and Austria Rising
The Austrian chancellor as a mixture of Hitler and
Mozart on the cover of Newsweek. Please relax!
Leni Riefenstahl, the director and scriptwriter of...
Opinion
Op-Ed | The Brexit Endgame
The outcome may indicate how the dialectic between supranationalism and nationalism will play out in much of the rest of the world.
The United Kingdo...
General
Opinion | Déjà vu All Over Again
With the Neue Mittelschule, reformers tried one-size-fits-all – with dismal results. Education Minister Heinz Faßmann’s pragmatic approach deserves a ...
General
Publisher’s Letter | Schmäh Eats Sarcasm for Breakfast
Some people say that when you begin dreaming in a foreign language you have mastered it. That may be, but I say, it’s when you begin telling jokes tha...
Culture
Expat’s Voice | The (Other) Sound of Music
Austrians like to show off their serious appreciation of classical music. But if you want them to erupt into joyful singing, you’ve got to play them s...
General
Expat’s Voice | The Future is Female
Three women now head the parties of the opposition. A small revolution for Austria
Sometimes reality overtakes prophecy. Christian Kern was quicker...
General
Opinion | Women’s Rights Sell-Out
The Austrian government has cut essential funding for feminist organizations and initiatives – a move that says a lot about its image of women
This...
October, 2018
Opinion | Kurz’s Course Correction
The EU is finally getting tough on Europe’s strongmen.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz played a major role in this turnaround
On September 12, th...
General
Publisher’s Letter | The Best Kept Secrets
We live in one of the most globalized countries in the world, the fourth richest country in the EU and one of the top funders of research and developm...
Opinion
Feedback From Our Readers
Many thanks for your thoughts, ideas and insights! If you have something to say about Vienna or a story you read here, tell us all about it. Send your...
Opinion
The Draft Dodgers
An expat muses on the virtues of fresh air.
Before moving to Vienna in July 2001, I spent my final weeks in New York suffering through the witherin...
Opinion
Rethinking Nationalism
At the root of Europe’s malaise is a philosophical paradox over what it means to be human.
On a summer afternoon in 1991 soon after the collapse ...
Opinion
(No) Pity for Christian Kern
Why the SPÖ leader rides his bike, has some enemies and is not to be envied.
Let’s call it a really bad losing streak, not a personal failure. The S...
July/August 2018
Women Can Be Blind, Too | The Vienna Subway’s Sticky Story
Riding Vienna’s public transport is always an adventure. This expat of over 20 years finds a hidden political agenda in the passenger information stic...
July/August 2018
The Sebastian Kurz Show
They love him or they hate him: Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is more notorious across Europe than most of his predecessors. Now he is taking ove...
July/August 2018
Has #MeToo Gone Too Far?
Lifetimes of understandable resentment can boil over into presumptions of guilt. This is dangerous. And when important public careers are ruined, ever...
July/August 2018
Feedback From Our Readers
Many thanks for your thoughts, ideas and insights! If you have something to say about Vienna or a story you read here, tell us all about it. Send an e...
July/August 2018
Publisher’s Letter | Puppy Love and the Cat’s Meow
At 14, I joined the ranks of the Viennese pet-owning public when – for a brief stint of six weeks – I adopted an adorable short-haired black and white...
June 2018
Austrian Muslims | It’s Time to Support Ourselves
In a provocative move, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced the closing of seven mosques and potential expulsion of 60 Turkish-funded imams on...
Publisher’s Letter | A River Runs Through It
My first home on the European continent was in Bratislava, Slovakia. The city was still run down in 1994, but as an 8-year-old ragamuffin, the cha...
General
Expat’s Voice: Hipster Politics and the Reds Up in Arms
Why Vienna's city government has completely reorganized itself and what it has to do with the FPÖ, expats and international managers
It is an int...
Opinion
Expat’s Voice | To Your Health!
For newcomers, Austrians can take some getting used to. But if you’re planning to get sick, Austria is the place to be.
Let’s be honest; if you’r...
June 2018
Servas, Michi!
After a quarter century, Vienna’s popular Mayor Michael Häupl leaves behind a city more prosperous, international and innovative – yet still humane. T...
June 2018
Finishing the Job in the Western Balkans
Western Balkan countries have made significant progress since the 1990s, when ethnic violence tore the region apart. But that progress is fragile with...
May 2018
Publisher’s Letter | What’s Cooking this May?
Of all the things I have learned in Vienna, the art of enjoying food has been the most valuable. My family had taken me to nice restaurants back h...
Opinion
Communism or Populism? Protests and Politics in Czechia
One generation after the miraculous Velvet Revolution brought down totalitarianism, Central Europe is still dealing with its legacy – and seeking to preserve the spark of the Prague Spring
Opinion
Opinion | Remedial German for Migrants: “Ghetto Classes” or Special Treatment?
The debate over remedial German classes for migrants has been heated and polarized. It is also a false choice.
Ludwig Wittgenstein was absorbed w...
Opinion
Opinion | Why Doesn’t the World Know More About Vienna?
Wien is a city of international stature in multiple ways - but too many know nothing about it.
Vienna has been a premier diplomatic capital for 2...
Opinion
Making Sense of the Central European Tragedy
What would we have done? Trying to grasp what we can never fully understand.
This year’s commemoration of the Anschluss of Austria by Nazi Germ...
Opinion
After Rude Awakening, Slovakians Demand Real Change
As the largest protests since 1989 rock Slovakia following the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak, fellow contributors wonder about the fut...
Opinion
The Sharing Economy Won’t Triumph over Capitalism
The sharing economy makes us more flexible but is no substitute for a true social community.
When my Airbnb host introduced me to his children ...
From our Readers | April 2018
Many thanks for your thoughts, ideas and insights! If you have something to say about Vienna or a story you read here, tell us all about it. Send an e...
From our Readers | March 2018
Many thanks for your thoughts, ideas and insights! If you have something to say about Vienna or a story you read here, tell us all about it. Send an e...
Opinion
Opinion | Moralism & the Arts
Just as we should not condemn a work of art because of the artist’s private behavior, we should also be careful about applying norms of social respect...
Opinion
Opinion | When Art, Students and Politics mix, the Universities Need to Recognize their Role in Fost...
Art & Politics at the Angewandte Austrian art and politics have always been entangled in an interdependent, uneasy relationship – often the more u...