'Talk more to each other': The Austrian president's New Year message
Ahead of federal elections later this year in which the far-right is expected to do well, Austria's President Alexander Van der Bellen encouraged people to engage more with those who have different viewpoints.
Talk “more to each other and ‘less about each other” Van der Bellen encouraged, saying that people who only engage with those who share their own opinion “never come into new insights”.
The president also encouraged voters to examine whether the parties standing for election this year in Austria are “constructive forces”.
Although the president’s role is largely ceremonial and constitutional, the remark is likely a veiled swipe at the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), which is likely to do well or even come first in the federal elections later this year.
NATIONALRATSWAHL | Sonntagsfrage INSA/eXXpress
FPÖ: 30% (+1)
SPÖ: 23%
ÖVP: 20% (-1)
GRÜNE: 10% (+1)
NEOS: 10%
Sonstige: 7% (-1)
Änderungen zur letzten Umfrage vom 03. November 2023
Verlauf: https://t.co/roFKebZlfU#nrw #NRWahl pic.twitter.com/W7aBabvdWG
— Österreich Wählt (@Wahlen_AT) December 9, 2023
At 30 percent in the polls and leading by quite some distance, it makes it harder for other parties to form a coalition against the FPÖ to keep it out, and more likely that the far-right party will be in government – as it was previously from 2017 to 2019 as a junior partner to then-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
In addition to national elections, Austrians and EU citizens will also vote in local elections in Innsbruck and Salzburg, as well as for the European Parliament in spring. Austrian citizens will then vote in federal elections in fall and both Vorarlberg and Styria will have state elections in the last quarter of 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1yR7A17j4U
“Don’t just talk to the extreme fringes. Let’s also take a look at what’s going on in the middle,” Van der Bellen said. “It’s always been the Austrian way”.
Van der Bellen also made explicit mention of the climate crisis, reiterating its scientific basis and that it wasn’t a problem Austria could afford to ignore.
“I hope that our children and grandchildren will also find a planet worth living on and an Austria worth living in,” he said.
READ ALSO: Alarm over Austria far-right party video as support for promo soars
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Talk “more to each other and ‘less about each other” Van der Bellen encouraged, saying that people who only engage with those who share their own opinion “never come into new insights”.
The president also encouraged voters to examine whether the parties standing for election this year in Austria are “constructive forces”.
Although the president’s role is largely ceremonial and constitutional, the remark is likely a veiled swipe at the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), which is likely to do well or even come first in the federal elections later this year.
NATIONALRATSWAHL | Sonntagsfrage INSA/eXXpress
— Österreich Wählt (@Wahlen_AT) December 9, 2023
FPÖ: 30% (+1)
SPÖ: 23%
ÖVP: 20% (-1)
GRÜNE: 10% (+1)
NEOS: 10%
Sonstige: 7% (-1)
Änderungen zur letzten Umfrage vom 03. November 2023
Verlauf: https://t.co/roFKebZlfU#nrw #NRWahl pic.twitter.com/W7aBabvdWG
At 30 percent in the polls and leading by quite some distance, it makes it harder for other parties to form a coalition against the FPÖ to keep it out, and more likely that the far-right party will be in government – as it was previously from 2017 to 2019 as a junior partner to then-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
In addition to national elections, Austrians and EU citizens will also vote in local elections in Innsbruck and Salzburg, as well as for the European Parliament in spring. Austrian citizens will then vote in federal elections in fall and both Vorarlberg and Styria will have state elections in the last quarter of 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1yR7A17j4U
“Don’t just talk to the extreme fringes. Let’s also take a look at what’s going on in the middle,” Van der Bellen said. “It’s always been the Austrian way”.
Van der Bellen also made explicit mention of the climate crisis, reiterating its scientific basis and that it wasn’t a problem Austria could afford to ignore.
“I hope that our children and grandchildren will also find a planet worth living on and an Austria worth living in,” he said.
READ ALSO: Alarm over Austria far-right party video as support for promo soars
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