-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Protests in Austria against the rise of Haider Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2000 06:05:22 +0100 From: Kurt Lhotzky <k.lhotzky at xpoint.at> Reply-To: marxism at lists.panix.com To: marxism at lists.panix.com
Comrades,
the last three days saw a rising wave of protests against Jörg Haiders Freedom Party entering the forthcoming Austrian government. On tuesday, a small crowd of abour 300 people gathered in front of the Hofburg, the seat of the Austrian president, calling slogans like "Resistance", "Haider is a fascist" (which is, by the way, wrong in my opinion), "No coalition with racism".
On wednesday, there were some 15.000 people in the streets of Vienna, following an appeal by an ephemere "Democratic Offensive", a group of [left]liberal journalists and writers. Astonishing: There were, for the first time since years, large contingents from the Trade Unions, with own banners and flags; the Socialdemocrats did not appear as a block, but there were blocks formed by the Socialdemocratic Students and the Socialdemocratic Youth. Of course, the "far left" was present as well. The atmosphere was militant, the leftwing participants later went to the parliament and then to the Head Office of the bourgeois ÖVP.
In discussions you still could find a very low political level. Very young people and (hihihi( adherents of the CP expressed a lot of illusions in the European Union and there "antifascism"! A new Popular Front - from Vienna to Romano Prodi! Dissaray makes strong bed-fellows.
Yesterday, some 6.000 people - mostly from left organizations - demonstrated in the whole city of Vienna. This was up to nowe the most militant and mobile action - the people were moving quickly from one point of protest to the next, so binding an enormous amount of police in riot-gears.
Today, at noon, the new blue-black capitalist government will be sworn in by the president.
We will be there - I will send You a report this evening
Kurt Lhotzky, Vienna