“Inflation” was named Austrian word of the year 2022. “Climate bonus” and “Corruption” came in second and third place. 12,051 people took part in the online vote.
This was organized by the APA and a professional jury led by Rudolf Muhr from the “Association for Austrian German” (GSÖD). This time the election was less characterized by original expressions and more by topics that affect the population. The word ‘inflation’ came first with 3904 votes. The jury’s reasoning was that the price hikes are a new and unknown phenomenon to most people, caused by high energy prices and the war in Ukraine, and are lowering the standard of living of many.
Subcommittee leaves traces
This is followed by the “climate bonus” with almost 1000 fewer votes. Each adult registered in Austria received the bonus payment of 500 euros, for children it was 250 euros. The climate bonus is intended as a compensation measure for additional costs. In the end, the word “corruption” came last with 1359 votes. The investigative committee named after the ÖVP and explosive statements by former Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance, Thomas Schmid, contributed to this.
Youth word of the year 2022 is “smash”, which is mainly used as a verb (smashing). It means something like “start something with someone”, also “have sex with someone” or used as an adjective horny, super, great. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen again contributed to the verdict of the year. “None of this can be true” was part of his speech about corruption in filling vacancies.
Nonsense reflects worry
At the same time as the word of the year, another nonsense was chosen. In 2022, this is the “energy crisis” with 2596 votes (out of 7835), reflecting the concerns and fears of Austrians. The jury motivated their choice with the fact that the uncontrolled high profits of the energy companies would be obscured. This is done by constantly pointing out that raw materials are becoming scarcer.
In this category, the “heating sponge” came in second place (1332 votes) due to its disparaging character, followed by the “leg scraper” (1058 votes). The latter is the name for the alleged manipulation of polls in favor of former chancellor Sebastian Kurz by pollster Sabine Beinschab.
This time, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) contributed to the nonsense of the year. “If we continue like this, there are only two decisions for you after that: alcohol or psychotropic drugs,” he said in July in his speech at the conference of the Tyrolean state party and also had to accept criticism from his own ranks.
Last year ‘shadow chancellor’ was word of the year, ‘lateral thinker’ was word of the year.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
