Questions for party leaders

Billions in deficit! Saving on culture?

This is what the party leaders have to say about the austerity program for theaters and museums.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/BBWien/Ludwig Schedl, Martin Jöchl, Peter Tomschi, Grüne Wien, stock.adobe.com)

It's easier to make cuts in the cultural sector than in hospitals. Do Vienna's leading candidates for the state elections think so too? We asked them.

Art washes the dust of everyday life from the soul - the quote attributed to Pablo Picasso hits the nail on the head. Without art and culture, life would be colorless and silent. Theater, museums, cinema, opera, festivals - every Viennese is intertwined with a genre. And the Capital of Culture attracts the masses: Three out of four visitors come to the city for its sights and cultural offerings. 90 percent of Viennese are "very" or "fairly satisfied" with the city's cultural offerings, say the statistics. But can this level be maintained? Vienna has to make savings, there is the threat of a billion-euro deficit - and it is easier to make cuts in culture than in healthcare. What's more, how important is this issue to the new federal government? We asked the leading candidates in the Vienna elections on April 27 about their preferences, plans and the limits of art.