Vienna in Distress

"In Vienna, we consistently stand for democratic values, rule of law, press freedom, and human rights. Therefore, we want to work focused on our city and not expose Vienna to a months-long election campaign." This is how Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) justified the decision to bring forward the municipal council election from autumn to April 27. Christoph Wiederkehr, his deputy from the Neos, stated that a storm is brewing: "Blue-Black is preparing attacks on Vienna, on liberal values such as press freedom, through cuts in education policy," said Wiederkehr: The upcoming election is intended to make the city "storm-proof".

Not at all. The election date is solely intended to serve the party's interests. Or rather, the interests of parties: If Blue-Black comes to power at the federal level, which may already be the case in mid-February, this is not only bad for SPÖ as well as Neos and Greens in Vienna. On the contrary, in the city there is a clear majority of center-left voters, so a larger movement against a Chancellor Herbert Kickl (FPÖ) and an ÖVP that helps him to this office can be expected here. Therefore, there could also be a larger mobilization in favor of SPÖ, but also Neos and Greens in the coming weeks. Ludwig is counting on this, so the election should take place as quickly as possible. And Wiederkehr is happy to be involved.

It would not be necessary to bring forward the election. Ultimately, little will change: Of course, the FPÖ will probably also gain significantly in Vienna, but the ÖVP must expect a crash, so the two together are likely to remain in the minority. The SPÖ, on the other hand, will in the worst case need not only Neos but also Greens for a coalition, but for the three parties there will almost certainly continue to be a majority in the future.

What will indeed change significantly is the political climate. Under a Chancellor Kickl, it will turn against "red" Vienna. What is announced is nothing less than a culture war, directed against everything that characterizes SPÖ, Neos and Greens, what they allow or even promote. From the Vienna Festival Weeks to the Rainbow Parade. From cosmopolitanism to gendering or "erroneous paths of the left zeitgeist", as Kickl puts it.

This is all the more threatening for the city government of Michael Ludwig as it is susceptible to blackmail: Vienna is financially dependent on the federal government, it is in a catastrophic state. If the city hall had previously assumed that the new debt this year would amount to 2.2 billion euros, this has just been significantly corrected upwards; now they expect 3.8 billion.

It is foreseeable what will happen: Kickl will instruct his finance minister to force the city into a painful austerity course - so that SPÖ, Neos and possibly Greens will have to give up things that are important to them, such as cultural and media funding, diversity and integration programs and much more.

Johannes Huber runs the blog dieSubstanz.at – Analyses and backgrounds on politics

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.