Austria

The government has announced it will suspend green electricity levies starting in 2027. It is a rare piece of fiscal relief for consumers, though one that may take three years to arrive. In the meantime, the health system is struggling with the present: adult influenza vaccines are in short supply again, and the doctors' association reports that children’s doses are also proving difficult to find.

Infrastructure and climate are providing their own disruptions. A collision between two loaded trucks closed the A1 highway toward Vienna for five hours, while a drought has left parts of Eidenberg without drinking water. The local fire department has taken over the role of the utility company, trucking in water to residents.

The real estate sector remains a source of local friction. While one 88-year-old tenant in Vienna is fighting a renovation project that threatens her long-term residency, a pensioner has taken the more unusual step of directly challenging the investor Michael Tojner. In the court system, a 61-year-old convict was denied a request to be recognized as transgender; the court ruled he must report to a men's prison.