Oppose the far-right Freedom Party, fight for a working-class socialist alternative
Negotiations to form a new coalition government in Austria have been under way since elections in September. Talks between conservatives, social democrats and liberals have broken down, mainly over the budget.
The far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) received the most votes in the election, with 28.8%. It is likely either an agreement will be made between them and the conservatives or otherwise new elections with the prospect of the FPÖ gaining ground.
There have been big efforts by sections of the Austrian capitalist class to keep the FPÖ out of government. At the same time, big parts of it are eager for a government to force through massive cuts on the working class.
The political crisis, with further attacks on workers threatened, dramatically poses the question of a working-class, socialist political alternative.
Below is the text of a leaflet by Sozialistische Offensive (CWI Austria) for a demonstration against the FPÖ entering government on 9 January 2025.
Glossary
- FPÖ – Freedom Party (far right)
- ÖVP – Austrian People’s Party (conservative)
- SPÖ – Socialist Democratic Party of Austria
- NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum (liberal)
- ÖGB – Austrian Federation of Trade Unions
How can we fight against fat-cat chancellor Kickl?
Another blue-black government [a coalition between the far-right Freedom Party and the conservatives] is looming, this time with Herbert Kickl as Chancellor. That is frightening. So what can we do to stop the FPÖ?
The new government will implement a more radical programme of cuts against all those who are not rich. These will be hidden behind attacks on all those who are not ‘normal’ or ‘Austrian’ in their eyes, to deflect attention.
‘It’s the economy’
The background to this situation is the economic crisis. But while we are being told how badly companies are doing, banks and energy companies for example are making high profits. The rich are getting richer. There is no shortage of money. It is not a law of nature that we have to take a cut in living standards. It is a political decision whether corporate profits are secured by cutting social benefits and wages – or whether profits are cut!
All the established parties are prepared to cut living standards in order to secure these profits under the pretext of ‘competitiveness’. The negotiations between ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS were behind closed doors – what are they hiding? What has been leaked from those talks shows that the SPÖ, led by Andreas Babler, was also prepared to make drastic cuts, although perhaps less so than the others. Many had hoped that a three-party coalition could have blocked the FPÖ. But any such government that implements such a programme of cuts would have made the FPÖ even stronger. Lesser evilism does not work!
The next government will cut wages and unemployment benefits, pensions, and spending on the climate, healthcare and education. They will deflect from this with divide-and-rule tactics, and the exclusion of people with the ‘wrong’ citizenship or religion. And because someone has to do the work that can no longer be done in hospitals, nursing homes and kindergartens, a conservative gender and family image is propagated. Anyone who doesn’t fit in is treated with hostility and discriminated against. Far-right and fascistic forces outside parliament (smaller ones outside the FPÖ – albeit with links to the FPÖ – that are even more to the right, like the ‘Identitären’) can become more confident, attacks can increase and the FPÖ will put “their people” into positions in the state apparatus. All of this is dangerous!
Learning from the ‘resistance’ movement in 2000
In 2000, when the first FPÖ-ÖVP coalition government came to power, there was a huge ‘resistance movement’ for months, with hundreds of thousands of participants. Impressive – but unsuccessful. Even new elections did not change anything. However, when there were major strikes against the pension reform and the attacks on the ÖBB railways in 2003, this put the government under massive pressure, because it wasn’t just the roads that were blocked, but also the companies.
The fact that the government was not toppled at that time was only due to the fact that the ÖGB trade union federation did not continue the strikes consistently until they were successful. One reason was the lack of a political alternative, because there was and is no party for workers and young people – and the SPÖ did not reverse the FPÖ-ÖVP measures afterwards. We have to learn from this. It’s a huge problem that now the tops of the ÖGB were obviously prepared to agree to major cuts alongside the SPÖ. We need trade unions that fight instead of making lazy compromises!
What can be done?
What can we do about this? There are plenty of things you can do. Going to demonstrations is good – but getting organised is better! There will be a wide variety of protests in the near future: We have to bring them together and make sure that they really hurt big business. This is only possible if we hurt them in their bank accounts – which is why strikes are the most effective means of struggle. Action committees in workplaces can build up massive pressure on the union leadership to finally take action. Action committees can also organise protests in schools, universities, etc.
Future struggles will help to build a party for workers and young people. In order to stop the rise of the right, it cannot give in to the ‘cuts logic’ of capitalism but needs a programme and a policy that breaks with capitalism. The capitalist economy is in crisis.
The existing political parties are parties of big business and create the framework to optimise profits at the expense of working people and the environment. What a sick system that discriminates against, deports and exploits people – for the profits of a few. That is why the best protection against the right-wing danger is the fight against its basis – capitalism!
Join us now in the struggle against the far right and the madness of capitalism!
