From Vienna to Tbilisi: a message of hope in a week of fear

Something very significant happened at EuroPride in Vienna on Saturday. Alexander van der Bellen, the President of Austria, addressed the hundreds of thousands of people who’d joined the Rainbow Parade, and in doing so became the first Head of State ever to speak at EuroPride.

The fact that in the last two weeks he’s had to deal with the biggest political crisis in Austria in decades made his appearance even more important. He spoke about how respect for human rights and LGBTI equality were not only Austrian values, but European…