Austria: a failed state
In nineties radio series Blue Jam there's a doctor sketch, where the GP, with the patient physically in his consultation room, declares he's going to "do this over the phone". He goes into the room next door, and calls the patient on the office landline. He complains about hearing the patient through the wall, then complains about the bad line, and asks the patient to call back on an internal number. On reconnection, the doctor says he's with a patient, and they have to make an appointment, which they do. The patient has to leave, undiagnosed, and having received no medical attention. Yesterday, I went to post a book to a friend in London from an Austrian post office. The post employee said: you have to complete an online customs declaration form before being able to send it. I said I didn't want to do it online, I'm in the branch, can I do anything necessary on paper here? The employee said no, you have to do it online. I said I don't hav...