So, here we are. The hegemony of the People’s Party is finally over. Yesterday more people voted for the social democrats than for Chancellor Schüssel and his unrelenting neo-liberal stooges. Which is a good thing.
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a good thing without a bad thing. Ever. The Green party, which is basically the only sound party in this country, still only came in fourth after the deranged right-wingers of the Freedom party. More bad things even: the equally deranged and xenophobic, dysfunctional BZÖ has raked in enough votes to probably get into our parliament.
Why anyone would still vote for them is beyond me. Well, it’s not beyond me really. Knowing how much they manipulate by spreading fear and promising things like shooting every single foreigner who as much as farts in the presence of a genuine Austrian into outer space, probably turns some people’s brains into mush. And sends them voting.
A bittersweet victory, indeed. I’m curious if Mr. Gusenbauer will be able to really change something and keep the party’s promises in this red-black-blue-whatever reality.
That’s a pity I’m not eligible to vote. Even more, when I know the ones that are able to vote, simply don’t care and stay home (25%; 35% in Vienna).
comment, in which I speak in high terms of your BZÖ-statement.
I think Austria is very lucky that FPÖ and BZÖ wreck themselves.
It’s more like they were just about the only party that seemed to exist in Carinthia, so it seemed kind of logical that they would get their 25% of the votes there. The were obviously investing huge amounts of money so that they would get the Grundmandat there. I was in Villach a week before the elections, and there were Haider posters everywhere (and I mean everywhere) and their campaign (also via websites such as http://www.wir-sind-wir.at/) was totally tailored to fit the Carinthian notion of local patriotism. It was sickening, but it explains the result.