Only very few people will ever have an appointment with the Austrian Federal President. The team around Alexander Van der Bellen checks meticulously who is allowed in to meet their boss, more strictly than the bouncers in front of hyped Berlin clubs. And these appointments are scheduled just as meticulously; the inauguration of a new federal government, for example, is a major protocol act. However, Austria’s song contest stars are often not as ambitious as future government members. Hoping that your visit to the Hofburg stays on schedule is more of a wishful thinking.
