Economy thrives as politics stalls

Article forms the lead and overview article in FT: Special Report: Doing business in Austria 2011. In spite of popular discontent and a sense of fatigue in the ruling coalition, business is in surprisingly fine fettle in Austria.

Other articles in the report include:

+ Economy thrives as politics stalls.
In spite of popular discontent and a sense of fatigue in the ruling coalition, business is in surprisingly fine fettle, writes Haig Simonian

+ Maria Fekter: Iron Lady steeled for ‘solid programme’ to reduce debt
Haig Simonian meets Austria’s new finance minister

+ Politics: Squabbles in coalition put brake on reforms
Eric Frey finds that constructive deals between partners are in short supply

+ Banking: €5bn loans to Hungarians are biggest headache
Southern European exposure is small but a controversial move by Budapest is causing concern, writes Eric Frey

+ Debt burden weighs on future prosperity
The political courage to implement structural reform has been lacking, says former finance minister Hannes Androsch

+ Business climate: Coalition’s internal strife fails to deter inward investors
Workforce harmony and skills remain key attractions, says Haig Simonian

+ Infrastructure: A tale of two tunnel visions on transport
Well-funded roads ease bottlenecks but rail projects appear too costly, writes Eric Frey

+ Industry: Germany’s appetite keeps factories’ plates full
Ed Hammond finds a strong recovery after the dark days of 2008

+ Federalism: A popular system – but does it make sense?
Eric Frey weighs the pros and cons of separating spending and taxing powers

+ Red Bull: Where marketing goes into overdrive
Ed Hammond visits Red Bull’s volcano-shaped head office and imbibes the wisdoms of its co-founder

+ Case study: Vorarlberg – A good climate for growth