"Krone" guest commentary

Island of the blessed

Christian Baha is a stock market expert and founded Austria's first stock exchange terminal in 1993, which supplies data in real time. In 1996, he established the world's first hedge fund for private investors. Baha has always pursued the vision of making funds for wealthy individuals accessible to smaller investors.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

Once upon a time, the Pope described Austria as an "island of the blessed". By this he meant an oasis of peace and stability. The statement was made by Paul VI when Bruno Kreisky visited him in 1971, his first year in office. 54 years later, this is no longer the case. On November 2, 2020, Vienna's city center became the scene of an attack. On February 15, 2025, a terrorist carried out a terrible attack in peaceful Villach. Both times, people were killed indiscriminately in order to spread Islamist terror.

We have the determined efforts of our police to thank for the fact that no more victims were harmed. In Vienna, it took only 9 minutes between the first emergency call and the terrorist being eliminated. In Villach, it took 7 minutes from the alarm to the arrest of the 23-year-old Syrian. Last summer, an attack on the Taylor Swift concert was thwarted at the last minute. Two weeks ago, a 14-year-old who had targeted Vienna's Westbahnhof station, where I used to work as a police officer, was taken out of circulation.

According to the State Security Service, there are 300 people at risk - a ticking time bomb. That's why we need more police with better equipment and extended powers. Saving money in the wrong place is out of place.

In fact, security and immigration were among the strongest motives in the election on September 29. The new government should take this to heart.