Economic crisis overcome by guile and persistence

The ‘economic crisis’ currently facing many country leaders in Europe is just a sneeze compared to the crisis Karl Renner faced exactly 90 years ago tomorrow in Austria when he began the task of leading a new country left with land only able to produce:
- a quarter of the food it needed to feed its population, and
- a seventh of the coal the country needed for power etc.
(and it was impossible to cover these imports with exports, as all the export industries were stripped from German-Austria by the Treaty of St Germain-en-Laye.)

Yet by reading Karl Renner: Austria by Jamie Bulloch, published tomorrow (Thursday 10th September 2009) you realise that Austria survived and eventually prospered due to one man’s guile and persistence.

Karl Renner: Austria by Jamie Bulloch is published by Haus Publishing in the Makers of the Modern World series on the 90th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of St Germain-en-Laye with Austria (£12.99 hb ISBN 978-1-905791-89-7).

Peace-meal