NEWS CENTER – Max Zirngast, Austrian communist, stated that the capitalist system is in crisis, and socialism is necessary for the planet and humanity. Expressing that ecological destruction is near, Zirngast noted that the survival of all species is possible only with socialism.
As Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote in the Communist Manifesto in 1848, "A specter is haunting Europe - the specter of communism". One of the countries where the specter stopped by a few months ago was Austria. Elke Kahr, the chair of the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) won the election in September 2021. She became the mayor of Graz with 29 percent of the votes. Thus, the 18-year rule of Siegfried Nagl from the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) came to an end. This result was both pleasing and surprising for the Austrian communists. We interviewed Max Zirngast, journalist and Graz City Councilor, about what happened during the election process in Graz, the promises of communists and their future programs.
As known, in Graz, the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) ruled the city from 2003 to 2021. They “surprisingly” lost to the Austrian Communist Party (KPÖ) in the last elections. What happened? Why did people give them up in Graz?
“The second reason was the steady presence and hard work of the Communist Party. For decades it worked closely with the people and for the people and thus managed to build a relationship of trust.”
There were two main reasons for this result. First, the people were more fed up with the status quo, the 18 year rule of mayor Nagl and the ÖVP than anyone thought. We are in close contact with the population even outside of electoral campaigns and I believe we have a good sense of the general climate among the people in Graz, but even we were surprised by that result. We did expect a good result for us and a drop in the vote for the ÖVP, yet not a dramatic shift like it eventually happened.
There is a general sense that Nagl ran out of gas, lost touch with the needs and demands of the people and more and more substituted grand projects that all too often never materialized for a politics for the people. His last idea for a mega-project was to build a metro in Graz, a city of roughly 300 thousand inhabitants. While there is a dire need for an improvement of public transport in Graz, a metro would do little to alleviate the major issues and cost much more than other solutions. Despite a PR-campaign for the metro project the large majority of the population was not at all convinced by it. Other than that there was little of substance in the electoral effort of Nagl and his party. They evoked stability which he stood for and at times and halfheartedly the danger of a communist takeover.
The second reason was the steady presence and hard work of the Communist Party. For decades it worked closely with the people and for the people and thus managed to build a relationship of trust. This was done by first focusing on specific issues, particularly the question of housing and tenant rights. The KPÖ is still perceived as the party of housing and tenant rights. An emergency hotline for tenants was established in the early 90s, following the example of the Communist Party of France in Lille. It has been in place ever since. The fact that elected officials of the party donated most of their salaries to a social fund from which it was given to the people in need increased the image of an honest party that works for the people and helps them in everyday life hardships. Eventually, with dominant politics every more carrying stains of corruption with it, this led the people to support the Communist Party even more. The image of party leader and now mayor Elke Kahr as always hard-working, modest, trustworthy and never looking down on anyone is widespread among the populace in Graz. Thus, the KPÖ and Elke Kahr gained the trust and support of a majority of the people in Graz.
Is the ÖVP losing its popularity all over the country?
“Its membership hovers around 600.000, there are many small rural communities were the ÖVP is the only party that even fields a list for local elections and the party and its associated organizations are organized all around the country in all spheres of life. This should not be brushed aside easily.”
For some time after the Second World War Austria was dominated by a corporatist model politically administered via a two-party system of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and the People’s Party (OVP). This model and the parties that carried it have seen a steady decline for at least 40 years. The elections results show that very clearly. With the neoliberal attack on the post-war consensus the party system became more complex, new parties emerged. Especially with the general turn towards fully embracing neoliberalism in the 1990s, European social democracy has been in a state of constant crisis and as a tendency it has lost massively. The membership of the SPÖ dropped significantly to barely over 100.000 people. Many workers or former workers feel betrayed by the party.
On the other hand, the ÖVP has retained more of its strength and has still a massive grip on the country. Its membership hovers around 600.000, there are many small rural communities were the ÖVP is the only party that even fields a list for local elections and the party and its associated organizations are organized all around the country in all spheres of life. This should not be brushed aside easily.
Yet, we also have to remember that the ÖVP was equally in crisis before Sebastian Kurz took over. With him at the helm they had 4 years of great success, because he openly attacked the remnants of the welfare state and the post-war consensus and he had the full backing of big capital while having a well-oiled machine working for him. Yet, his political project began to crumble as well as the accusations of corruption, embezzlement and bribery of his closest circle and eventually himself. Also, his government largely failed in providing a viable politics to combat the pandemic. After he resigned the ÖVP had to go into reset mode. It certainly took a hit in the polls and will have to struggle to gain back trust of some people it lost, but it is still the most dominant political power in the country by far. Left forces cannot overlook that.
Are reactionary ideas like neo-liberalism and conservatism losing its impact on Austrian society? Or do the inhabitants of Graz on their own prefer to oppose these kind of ideas?
We should not throw out the bay with the bathwater. In terms of social relations and social power not much has changed as a consequence of our triumph. It is rather that the system itself capitalism and also neoliberalism in particular is in crisis and fails to provide satisfying answers for the people. Yet, very often there is a lack of a viable alternative that a good portion of the people genuinely has trust in. On a local level we are viewed as this viable alternative by many. Or maybe rather a corrective to the system in place on a local level.
“Any movement, not keeping the people’s hope alive would in time pass away” said Mao Zedong. As much as I see, the KPÖ, one of the oldest communist parties in the world, has become a new hope. What did you properly promise to the people in the elections? What is your program? What kind of basic issues should be solved to satisfy society?
“On a local level we will seek to push back profit interests in the city, create more public spaces without pressure to consume and try to issue social and health and care policies that leave no one behind.”
One of our main positives in the eyes of the people is that we do not make big promises that we cannot keep. It is very clear what we stand for: more and better social housing, inclusive politics for everyone regardless of nationality, better social policy and more help for those who really need it, a city development according to social and ecological standards and not in the interest of real estate capital and a health and care politics that works for the people and not private interests.
What we can do on a local level is limited, also one must not forget that we can only rule in a coalition with the Greens and the SPÖ. The coalition subscribes to those principles as well: more transparent and democratic style of governing, better social policy and ecology.
As a Communist Party we obviously do want more than we can realistically achieve on a local level. And we will not hold back from voicing these demands or addressing the national government when fit. We obviously do not want a world in which everything is subsumed under profit interests and all public goods are turned into a commodity. We do not want a world in which humans and nature are exploited. We do want a world in which each and everyone can satisfy their needs and fully prosper. But again, these are big goals that need long struggle and a broad movement that goes way beyond Graz or even Austria.
On a local level we will seek to push back profit interests in the city, create more public spaces without pressure to consume and try to issue social and health and care policies that leave no one behind.
It is clear that capitalist groups, namely bourgeoisie, will try to block you. Do you have any necessary “shields” against neo-liberal “spears”?
“Our main shield is our relation with the people. As we have always stated, our preferred coalition is with the people and our constant exchange and the longstanding relation build on trust is the best defense against all sorts of attacks.”
As one can imagine we are not treated in a particularly nice way by bourgeois media outlets. There have been campaigns against us in the past, obviously scrutiny and attacks increased after the electoral success. The parties of the status quo and the dominant system have done the same time and again, very often in close contact with some media outlets.
Our main shield is our relation with the people. As we have always stated, our preferred coalition is with the people and our constant exchange and the longstanding relation build on trust is the best defense against all sorts of attacks. In terms of media we have a newspaper that appears 6-7 times a year, but is distributed to every household in Graz. And we have a lively presence at various social media channels.
One task ahead is that we will improve on all these channels and shield ourselves even better against possible attacks.
In 2005, as erasmus student, I studied at the University of Vienna for 6 months. During the education, I made some observations. I actually didn’t expect that communist party would be in power in a city in Austria. Today it happened. It again indicates that society is in the stage of change, and open to new ideas. What do you think? Can Austria pass to the socialist system in the future?
“Also, it is safe to say that the dominant system in entangled in a state of multiple crises which it cannot solve for the good. Thus popular movements and popular politics are of great need.”
Again, we have to be careful and must not get carried away. That is not yet, unfortunately, on the agenda. The demand for socialism was not a demand of the people in Graz. They wanted a more honest, social administration which is there for the people and does not look down on them. Better social politics and more democracy.
There is still a long struggle ahead in order to seriously shift social relations. There are no shortcuts.
We do believe that a socialist system is possible, in fact, necessary in order to guarantee the survival of this planet and thus also humans and other species. We are heading towards ecological destruction, war is inscribed into the capitalist system as a constant possibility. Obviously, people in the Middle East are very much aware of that.
Also, it is safe to say that the dominant system in entangled in a state of multiple crises which it cannot solve for the good. Thus popular movements and popular politics are of great need. On a local level in Graz we seek to contribute to that by showing that there are alternatives. At the same time we do not want to claim that we have found the blueprint that everyone else just needs to copy. It is not that easy. The concrete situation in Graz is not the same as in Vienna or somewhere else. One cannot simply replicate that, but there are some principles that are a good basis for a successful popular and communist politics. The main principle being that our political is always with the people and for the people and that no problem is too small for us to engage with it. We, as communists, must show that we are not shying away from engaging with the everyday problems of people and that we are able to find solutions. Only by showing that we will be able to build a relationship of trust and a base for our politics that will allow us to tackle the bigger problems as well.
MA / Ismet Konak