The publicist Paul Lendvai has found a second home in Austria, which he wants to “protect”. But with his new book “Very Tested Austria” he shows that things are going wrong.
Of
Catherine Kahlweit
When Paul Lendvai, who is now 93 years old, writes about Austria, his gratitude is mixed with a touch of melancholy and a lasting astonishment that he and this country actually made it this far. After the Hungarian uprising in 1957, the journalist, author and TV presenter made his way to Vienna via Prague and Warsaw; two years later he became a citizen. But if you visit him in his apartment in the 19th district before he goes on a reading tour with his new book, then after all this time he still calls himself primarily a “Viennese” and a “European”, not necessarily a ” Austrian”. Although as a Hungarian refugee he was naturalized in record time – when you consider that the Viennese immigration and citizenship office, the disreputable MA 35, often takes years to process an application, let alone approve it.