Austria is often considered the birthplace of modern right-wing populism in Europe. However, the small Alpine country has recently been haunted by another political spectre – and this time, it comes from the left.
In most European countries, communism is an ideology primarily reserved for history books. And until recently, Austria was no different.
In the general election of 2019, the communist party KPÖ gathered a measly 0.69 %. However, the years of crisis that followed – from COVID-19 to the war in Ukraine – have put the communists back on the political map.
In 2021, they won Austria’s second-largest city, Graz, and in April, they managed to secure almost 12% in the state election in Salzburg. On the federal level, they are also consistently polling at around 5%.
Right-wing populism has been a widespread phenomenon in Europe since the early 1990s – when the flamboyant Austrian politician Jörg Haider made extreme far-right ideas socially acceptable by staging them as modern.
As chairman of the right-wing FPÖ in 1986, he brought the party on a populist track and established it as the country’s third political force. Haider’s charisma and provocative rhetoric continue to inspire right-wing populists to this day.
However, the formula for the FPÖ’s meteoric rise now seems to be appropriated by the other side of the political spectrum too.
Like the FPÖ, the Communists are inherently Eurosceptic. For them, the EU is nothing but a devilish neoliberal project. One of their regional branches in Styria even called for an exit from the EU – a move not even the FPÖ dared to do.
Their position on Russia is also quite similar. Like the right-wing populists, the KPÖ seeks to end the Russia sanctions, and one of their senior party members even praised Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in 2021.
However, despite these apparent appeals to protest voters, there are also other reasons for the rise of the populist left that have more to do with the erosion of trust in the other parties.
Austria has been rocked by various corruption scandals in recent years, leading to mistrust in established parties and the political system as a whole.
While the conservative ÖVP around Sebastian Kurz was embroiled in bribery accusations, the centre-left SPÖ failed to show any competence whatsoever and instead focused on months of infighting, leading to a chaotic leadership election.
The most recent example is the mishap with the election of none less than the party leader. After a faulty transfer of votes due to an Excel spreadsheet glitch, the party accidentally announced the wrong person as their leader and only realised the mistake a day later.
The SPÖ’s mishap is one of many examples of why Austrians increasingly see politics as a joke, which is where the second left-wing populist party comes in: the Beer Party.
The Beer Party, led by punk musician Dominik Wlazny, has made international headlines during last year’s Austrian presidential election.
While the party only managed to garner 0.1% of the votes in 2019, Wlazny – whose stage name is Marco Pogo – came in third in the presidential election in 2022 and managed to receive a swapping 8% of votes as a satirical party.
His programme was somewhat unorthodox: Wlazny campaigned for building a beer fountain in the middle of Vienna and a tax reduction on alcoholic drinks.
However, despite this satirical presentation, the Beer Party’s political work in Vienna, where they hold 11 seats in district councils, already shows that they are serious about leftist policies.
With catchy slogans, simple rhetoric, and charismatic leaders, left and right-wing populists certainly have something in common.
But the Austrian example also shows that if trust in the traditional parties is eroding, the natural winners are the ones on the two ends of the political spectrum.
Today’s edition is powered by Amazon
Up to €8,000 towards tuition and training Across the EU, hourly employees, after just one year of service, have the opportunity to gain the skills and qualifications needed to pursue their career aspirations.
It’s just one of the benefits at Amazon.
Available in Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia.
Learn more >>
The Roundup
The European Commission said on Monday it had decided not to prolong emergency measures introduced last year to shield consumers from soaring energy prices, adding those measures had helped to contribute to a calming of European electricity markets.
Temporary trade restrictions on four agricultural products from Ukraine to five European ‘frontline’ countries have been extended until September, despite one of the states – Hungary – having yet to meet the EU executive’s conditions for the extension.
European Council Charles Michel expressed shock on Tuesday at an attack on a major dam in Ukraine and pledged to hold Russia accountable for the “war crime” of destroying civilian infrastructure.
Just as the timing of the world’s first AI treaty starts aligning with the EU legislative agenda, an American-led push to exclude private companies might make it not worth the paper it is written on.
The new European Sovereignty Fund, expected to finance multi-country projects of European importance for the green transition, is key to the Commission’s game plan to counter foreign subsidies. Yet days before its expected proposal, some worry it is no more than an empty promise.
Eco-schemes, a new instrument within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to reward sustainable farming practices, have been taken up by far fewer farms than hoped in Germany, according to new data from the country’s agriculture ministry.
Don’t miss this week’s Transport Brief, as well as this exclusive opinion piece about how to stop Viktor Orban from running the EU Council presidency next year.
Look out for…
- Commissioner Mairead McGuinness speaks at Annual Joint Conference of European Commission and European Central Bank on European Financial Integration on Wednesday.
- Commissioner Nicolas Schmit receives Spain’s First Deputy PM Nadia Calviño.
- College of Commissioners holds orientation debate on EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework.
Views are the author’s
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic/Alice Taylor]
Source: euractiv.com
