Do Austrians really hate children?
The week's news at a glance.
Austria
Rainer Nowak
Die Presse
It’s no wonder Austria has one of the lowest birthrates in Europe, said Rainer Nowak in Vienna’s Die Presse. We have a minister of families who freely admits that “kids often get on one’s nerves.” Health and Families Minister Andrea Kdolsky hadn’t been in office a week before the news came out that she had once written a book celebrating the joys of being a single, childless woman. So what was the response of Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, who appointed this singularly unqualified person to this important post? He defended her. “She’s refreshingly honest,” Gusenbauer said. “To say that kids never get on your nerves is certainly not the truth.” Sorry, chancellor, but Austria doesn’t need that kind of strident honesty. Should the interior minister come out and admit that sometimes crime victims are asking for it? Should the social minister say some people game the welfare system? These things may all be true, but the job of a Cabinet member is to speak for those who use the services in his or her portfolio. As health and families minister, Kdolsky should know that “negative opinions are like childhood diseases: They are very, very contagious.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocrat
Feature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?
Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlock
Feature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo