I'm sorry.
Austria recently presented a shameful picture.
First the advertising affair of the ÖVP, then the government crisis, finally the failure in pandemic management, which could only be countered by the fourth total lockdown since the outbreak of the crisis.
After all, a new form of politeness is now finding its way into this country: People are apologizing again.
Even if apparently not everyone is serious.
Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein from the Greens started the round.
"Unfortunately, as the federal government, we have fallen short of our claims," Mückstein introduced his apology.
It was one of his clearer analyzes of the past time.
Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, an ÖVP man, immediately added: "Yes, I would like to apologize."
The new head of government chosen by Sebastian Kurz especially asked for forgiveness from those who "did everything right, who vaccinated".
On Monday, the education minister recognized a certain routine in the pardon: he apologized for the chaos in the schools, "because one apologizes".
So: recently.
Election in Upper Austria
The German Chancellor is a few months ahead of Austrian government politicians in this regard. Angela Merkel had already asked the German population for forgiveness for the corona chaos in March. At least since late summer, the failure of the Austrian government can be traced and substantiated with facts: According to numerous experts, at the beginning of September even the official Covid forecast consortium warned of a "system-endangering" fourth wave if countermeasures are not taken.
Why did the Austrian government hardly react, if at all?
One of the explanations could hardly be more Austrian: In Upper Austria, a regional election was due at the end of September.
The strongest force in the state bordering Bavaria is the ÖVP.
However, the right-wing populists of the FPÖ are better positioned in Upper Austria than anywhere else.
In addition, the new vaccination-critical party, MFG, ran for election.
Nobody - not even in the federal government - had dared to drive Upper Austrian voters into the arms of the competition by harsh corona measures.
Unpopular action and election days have rarely combined well, in Upper Austria the consequence is fatal: hospitals are reaching their overload limit, non-vital interventions are being canceled.
People die, especially those who have not been vaccinated.
Kurz declared the pandemic over in the summer
Another explanation for the Austrian hesitation is that in the summer then Chancellor Sebastian Kurz prematurely declared the crisis for vaccinated people to be over.
And since Kurz is still pulling the strings in the background, his successor Schallenberg did not want to give up his ally's slogan until hours before the new lockdown was announced.
Some also attribute the misery to the investigation against Kurz and the resulting government crisis in the autumn: Politicians were busy with other things than Corona.
If you compare the seven-day incidences here and there, Germany is currently far better off than Austria.
But will the Federal Republic of Germany get through the entire fourth wave more lightly in the absence of these political impacts?
Austria is now the first country in the European Union to introduce mandatory vaccination.
From February there will be administrative penalties for those who refuse to be stabbed.
Over the weekend tens of thousands of people demonstrated against the measures taken by the government, led by the FPÖ.
What was feared before the election in Upper Austria now seems to be coming true - because too little was done at the time.
Social media moment of the week
The host of the Hofbeisl restaurant in Bad Ischl in Upper Austria has some more or less helpful tips for vaccine skeptics:
Stories we recommend you today:
Do skiers have to write off their winter vacation again?
Austria's most influential ski lobbyist Peter Schröcksnadel is hoping for a vaccination boom - and the RKI.
Interview with the "Liftkaiser" Peter Schröcksnadel
In the summer, Sebastian Kurz wanted to have mastered the pandemic, now the big closure is starting again.
What went wrong in the federal government?
Seeing the Corona misery with a close eye: The protocol of failure
The government in Vienna dims public life, the vaccinated majority seem to endure it stoically.
But anti-vaccination campaigners pose as victims, fueled by the FPÖ's shrill slogans:
Austria on day one of the (renewed) lockdown
The big Corona botch shows the deficits of the political system:
Austria's politics are "broken in the system".
What is it
Former Vice Chancellor Erhard Busek led the conservative ÖVP more than 20 years before Sebastian Kurz.
He considers a return of the ex-chancellor to be unlikely, he says in an interview.
Ex-Vice Chancellor Busek on Austria's corruption affair: "Unfortunately, that's how we are"
Kind regards
Your Katharina Mittelstaedt
And once again the note on our own behalf: You can order this briefing here as a newsletter in your e-mail inbox.
