9 March: Shop-stewards conference condemns new government while students discuss strike action
Österreich: STOPPT Schwarz-Blau!
Die absehbaren Auswirkungen des schwarz-blauen Regierungspaktes: PAKT DER GRAUSAMKEITEN
Widerstand auf
der Straße und
im Betrieb – bis
hin zum
Generalstreik!
Wie stoppen wir
den Wahnsinn?
Stop Haider—Kick out the Blue -Black Coalition
Statement on the Freedom Party entry into the Austrian Government
[International Secretariat of the LRCI, 8 February]
To a storm of protest throughout Europe Jörg Haider's Freedom Party has entered the Austrian government. Though this party is not—as some on the left claim— a fascist party, it is a far right, reactionary, racist one. Its leader has more than once identified himself with the policies of the Nazis. This is reason enough to drive the FPÖ-ÖVP coalition from office right now.
Austria’s immigrant population will face sustained prejudice and discrimination and from this government. The declaration of democratic values, extracted from Haider and the FPÖ, in an attempt to appease the European Union governments, is little more than a figleaf.
What the protesting, mainly “socialist”, governments of the EU have not even mentioned let alone protested against, is the programme the new government has for demolishing the post-war social gains of the Austrian working class in the interests of Austrian, European and global capitalism.
For the above reasons—the intensification of state racism and the onslaught on working class social gains— Austrian workers, anti-racists and youth are one hundred times right do all in their power now to prevent this government consolidating its hold on power and make its lifetime as short as possible. Workers across Europe and around the world must support their demonstrations—not the empty gestures, the threats of sanctions, of the hypocritical Eurocrats and the rulers of the United States. The selfsame people have already made the US and the EU into fortresses against asylum seekers and refugees. They eagerly suppo
rt the demolition of workers’ social gains in the name of globalisation.
But why has the Austrian ruling class resorted to such a dangerous figure as Haider, provoking condemnation by the EU, the USA and Israel? Certainly not because of his anti-EU demagogy nor even because they want to adopt his naked policies of racial discrimination. It is because they see an ÖVP-FPÖ coalition as the only government able to carry through the long delayed demolition job on the gains of Austria’s workers embodied in the “social partnership” system which has kept Austria in a state of incredible social stability for forty years or more, but it is no longer needed by the bosses.
The Freedom Party’s demagogy against the mounting corruption and cronyism of this system— as well as its racism against Eastern European and Balkan asylum seekers— won it an electoral mass base. Millions of workers and middle class voters have been alienated from the “social partnership” system by the run down of the welfare state and local services. The fact that these reductions were justified by the Socialist-Conservative coalitions of the last thirteen years, citing firstly the need to meet the budget conditions for entering the EU and then the competitive challenges of the global market drove large numbers of working class and middle class voters into Haider arms..
Such policies opened up many blue collar working class voters to Haider’s anti-EU, anti-corruption, demagogy. The SPÖ ’s failure to openly challenge Haider’s racism—his lying propaganda that immigration is to blame for unemployment and rising crime— has handed over working class voters to their own worst enemy. The results of the recent elections show that FPÖ ’s increased vote came mainly at the expense of the SPÖ .
The long term paralysis of the Austrian labour movement—the product of decades of coalition and “social partnership” with the bosses— is also to blame for the shameful situation where workers’ turn to the far right to “protest” against the neglect and indifference of the “socialist” party and the unions for the workers basic interests. Haider has created a battering ram for the bosses— in part made out of workers votes— to smash up the welfare state!
The FPÖ programme calls for: drastic cuts in the budget and in pensions; the privatisation of nationalised industries and other institutions; tax cuts; lowering wage costs by reducing employers’ contributions to holiday pay and accident and unemployment insurance; and a major reform of welfare benefits. In short it is the programme of a Thatcher—not of a Hitler.
The outrage of the European governments and media against Haider is due mainly to his sickening praise of Hitler and the Waffen SS, less to his anti-immigration policies and not at all to the economic offensive the coalition wants to launch against Austria’s workers. The snubbing and boycotting at EU functions will do nothing to help Austria’s workers resist Haider. It probably strengthens him in the eyes of large sectors of the population. After all, in 1995 the EU did not ostracise the Italian government which contained Gianfranco Fini, whose party the Alleanza Nazionale, has open and unrenounced historic links to Mussolini’s fascist party. Such boycotts or sanctions do nothing to fight Haider.
Two examples should guide Austrian workers, anti racists and youth. The first is the marvellous example of the Italian workers who brought down the coalition government of millionaire media magnate Silvio Berlusconi with Fini’s Alleanza by means of mass demonstrations and strikes.
But the other example—to be avoided at all costs —is the failure of the leaders of the British labour movement to mount a class-wide resistance when Margaret Thatcher’s first launched her privatisation programme. The official leaders of the Labour Party and the TUC stood by whilst the Tories took on section after section of workers, defeating them in isolation from one another.
During its first weeks or months such a government is at its weakest. As the enormity of its programme becomes clear to millions, active trade unionists socialists and youth must go all out to mobilise a mass movement against Haider and his conservative allies,
The left, anti-racists, students and individual workers have already taken to the streets night after night against the formation of the government. The activists must unite and set out to draw in ever wider forces. In the schools, universities, and at workplaces meetings of all the unions resolution must be passed to support stoppages, to participate in huge demonstrations.
The leader of the SPÖ ’s youth organisation has talked openly of the need to bring down this government. The Vienna tramworkers, the railway workers union and the garbage collection workers have all threatened strike action. Let’s turn words into deeds. The ÖGB (Austrian TUC) must call out the entire trade union movement and the SPÖ must mobilise its membership too.
Regular demonstrations, strikes by workers, by school and college students, by immigrant workers, by all horrified by the prospect of Haider in power, can build an unstoppable movement—one willing to go all the way to a general strike in order to kick out the Blue-Black coalition. Action committees should be formed of all organisations joining the struggle, meeting regularly and open to all. This movement must draw into its ranks the immigrant communities and asylum seekers of Austria to show them, in deeds, that they are welcome in the worker’s movement; here to stay and here to fight together for a better world
- Down with the racist, anti-worker Blue Black government!
- Down with racism—by the police, the Freedom Party or by fascist thugs !Down with the attack on jobs, wages, pensions and social services!
- Down with the privatisation of industries services, communications!
- For mass demonstrations, strikes up to a general strike to stop the anti-working class assault and bring down this government!
- For a government of the workers movement, to reverse the social destruction of this and recent governments and to take the offensive against Austrian and multinational capital!