POLIS

The first thing that popped out from the background noise in Vienna were these political posters of a beaming, pleasant-seeming blonde man; they're all up and down the major straßes. The guy's name is Dr. Hans Kronberger, and he's the Freedom Party candidate for Austrian president in the upcoming June 13 election. What's unsettling about the posters are the three rotating messages they feature, including:

Turkei in die EU? Mit mir nicht! (Turkey in the E.U.? Not with me!)

Now, it's not surprising to see this sort of not-so-thinly-veiled xenophobia, especially given this country's far and recent pasts. It's just a bit unsettling to see it so nonchantly plastered all over a major cosmopolitan city. (I'll just briefly mention posters from another candidate that feature what I believe to be a Turkish man cartoonishly rendered with fangs, the obvious implication being that immigrants are vampires on the society, and this is from the Green Party candidate! Does anyone know if I'm missing the point on these?)