The Viennese city coalition plans to crack down on early retirement. Social Democratic (SPÖ) Mayor Michael Häupl announced yesterday (Tues) that he wanted to increase the average pension age of the capital’s public servants from the current 56 to 60 years. Häupl did not disclose when the four-year increase should be achieved. His announcement came […]
Viennese Social Democratic (SPÖ) Financial Affairs Councillor Renate Brauner has stressed that “immense challenges” are ahead for the city. Brauner told the Kurier today (Fri) that the Viennese SPÖ-Greens coalition would try to avoid a decrease of service quality to citizens despite the need to save one billion Euros in the coming five years. Brauner […]
Richard Lugner has revealed details about his Sunday shopping initiative. The businessman – who owns and manages Vienna’s Lugner City shopping centre – recently said he contacted Social Democratic (SPÖ) Mayor Michael Häupl to find out whether the city of Vienna might issue an extraordinary regulation enabling him to open on the seventh day of […]
Michael Ludwig has vowed to improve the quality of services to people living in social housing flats in Vienna. The Viennese Social Democratic (SPÖ) housing councillor told the Kurier newspaper today (Thurs) his department recently raised the number of advice and information checkpoints situated at community housing complexes to 100 in the past months. He […]
Vienna takes fifth place in a survey checking European city’s tourism competitiveness. German consulting group Roland Berger investigated the marketing efforts of 24 capital cities in Europe in their battle for vacationers. The firm’s study also considered economic aspects. Roland Berger ranked Vienna in fifth place, neck and neck with Berlin in Germany. Paris in […]
Vienna will get a Ritz next year, it was confirmed yesterday (Tues). A group of Kazakh investors signed contracts with Austrian real estate company Bauträger Austria Immobilien GmbH (BAI) in Vienna. The business partners said afterwards that a new hotel of the famous brand would open in the city in the second quarter of 2012. […]
Graz Mayor Siegfried Nagl has said he understands the “anger” of Styrian public servants. Civil servants working for the province of Styria and its capital Graz were informed their salaries would not rise next year despite agreement on federal political level that wages should be increased by 2.95 per cent. Social Democratic (SPÖ) Minister for […]
The Viennese People’s Party (ÖVP) tried to persuade an industrialist and conservative opinion leader to take over as chairman, it has emerged. Claus Raidl – who formerly headed tool steel manufacturer Böhler Uddeholm – confirmed today (Thurs) that he was approached by Vienna ÖVP officials about whether he could imagine becoming the party’s new leader. […]
Vienna has retained its reputation as the most liveable city in the world in a global consulting group’s latest investigation. Mercer said today (Tues) the Austrian capital made first place in its Quality of Living Survey 2011. Zurich in neighbouring Switzerland remains in second place followed by Auckland, New Zealand, and Munich, Germany. Dusseldorf in […]
Cars lacking eco-friendly engine systems should be kept out from Vienna form 2013, a Green Party official has suggested. Rüdiger Maresch said today (Fri) owners of cars with excessive carbon emissions could be blocked from entering the federal capital in less than two years by creating a new motorised traffic rules system. The Vienna Greens […]