Wave of Protests Against Possible Kickl Government
The possibility of an impending black-blue federal government under the chancellorship of Herbert Kickl is causing protests. When the FPÖ leader stepped into a first conversation with the Federal President on Monday after the failure of the red-black-pink talks, he did so accompanied by boos and hundreds of demonstrators. On Tuesday, the red youth organisations expressed their displeasure at Ballhausplatz, and on Thursday several NGOs are calling for a protest action there.
Call for Demo Against Chancellor Kickl on Thursday in Vienna
Under the title "Alarm for the Republic!" Volkshilfe, Greenpeace and SOS Mitmensch are inviting people to form a human chain and "loud protest" in front of the Chancellery. "Our republic is at a crossroads. A far-right federal chancellor threatens, and with him an attack on democracy, human rights, justice, independent media, climate and nature protection and social cohesion in our country," it said in a statement.
Already on Tuesday, the red youth organisations Aktion Kritischer Schüler_innen, the Rote Falken, the Socialist Youth as well as the youth of the faction of social democratic trade unionists and the Association of Socialist Students (VSStÖ) demonstrated at the same place. "FPÖVP robs you of your last shirt!" was written on a banner. Two demo participants with Kickl masks or one of the new acting ÖVP chairman Christian Stocker stripped a third of his.
Viennese Thursday Demonstrations Against Black-Blue Coalition Could Return
A revival of the Thursday demonstrations is also likely. After the swearing-in of the first black-blue coalition in February 2000, more than 150,000 people gathered at Vienna's Heldenplatz to protest against the new ÖVP-FPÖ government and their feared "racism and social cutbacks". In the following two years, weekly rallies with thousands of demonstrators took place. Once, the protesters even broke into the Marriott Hotel, where then FPÖ Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser and ÖVP Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel were supposed to appear. There were also "resistance readings", in which Elfriede Jelinek, among others, participated.
18 years later, the protest was revived. Under the slogan "It's Thursday again", people took to the streets from October 2018 against turquoise-blue under ÖVP government chief Sebastian Kurz and FPÖ Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache. Not only in Vienna, but also in cities like Linz or Innsbruck. The Thursday demonstrations came to a natural end when the Ibiza affair blew up the coalition.
"wiederdonnerstag" Welcomes Protests Against Kickl
After the national elections in September of last year, which saw the Freedom Party emerge as the clear winner, there was a second revival. Under the motto "FIX ZAM against the right!" according to the organisers, around 25,000 people marched through the centre of Vienna. "We think it's absolutely right and necessary that a broad resistance against Kickl and the most radical FPÖ since the Second Republic is already forming," said Natalie Assmann, spokeswoman for the organisation wiederdonnerstag on Tuesday to APA. They welcome all already announced demos and mobilise for the one on Thursday in front of the Chancellery. "How the dynamics of the Do! demos will develop depends on political events."
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.