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Gay politician attacked at Rainbow Parade

Austria's first openly gay politician, leader of the Austrian Greens' delegation to the EU parliament Ulrike Lunacek was the apparent victim of an attack at Friday's annual Rainbow Parade in Vienna.

Published: 15 June 2014 19:48 CEST
Gay politician attacked at Rainbow Parade
Ulrike Lunacek. Photo: Helge Fahrnberger / Wikimedia

An unknown assailant sprayed butyric acid at the politician as she was giving an interview on the sidelines of the parade. Lunacek and the interview team were not injured.

The acid damaged the Greens MP's clothes and the camera equipment. According to police spokeswoman Barbara Riehs, the acid caused around €50,000 worth of damage to the electronic equipment. The attacker had not yet been found on Sunday.

"Never before has there been an attack at the Rainbow Parade," said Lunacek at the end of the event at Vienna's City Hall. These kinds of isolated cases showed that the fight for tolerance, acceptance and respect in Austria was not over. People who spread fear and hate needed to be opposed, she added. Homosexuals and transgender people needed to combat fear and show that they were not only part of society, but at the centre of it, said the EU MP.

The attacker was wearing a white polo shirt, had dark hair and according to police, "a rather solid stature."

Around 150,000 people took part in the parade, making it the most successful one to date, said organiser Christian Hoegl from the Homosexual Initiative (HOSI) Vienna. The parade was held on the Ring, which encircles Vienna's historic centre.

A fundamental Christian counter-demonstration called "March for the Family" took place near St. Stephan's cathedral in central Vienna. The approximately 50 demonstrators were met by another counter movement under the motto of "Love Sexuality – Fight Sexism". The 200 protesters blocked the fundamentalists, who march against the Rainbow Parade every year. Five of the pro-parade demonstrators were arrested.

Butyric acid has a powerful odour.  According to Wikipedia, the substance has also been used as a stink bomb by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to disrupt Japanese whaling crews, as well as by anti-abortion protesters to disrupt abortion clinics.  Butyric acid is rated as a toxic substance by the US EPA.

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POLITICS

‘Glass half full’: Who is Austria’s Beer Party candidate for chancellor?

Austria's controversial but increasingly popular Beer Party announced it would run in the upcoming National Council elections, with party leader and former rock star Dominik Wlazny seeking the chancellery.

Published: 30 April 2024 16:38 CEST
'Glass half full': Who is Austria's Beer Party candidate for chancellor?

With his distinctive long dark hair and rebellious torn jeans, punk rock singer Dominik Wlazny of Austria’s Beer Party has emerged as an intriguing candidate for the country’s next chancellor, just as he did when he ran for president—and surprisingly did better than expected.

Yet, Wlazny announced this Tuesday that the Beer Party will definitely be running in the national elections and seeks to reach a self-imposed funding target of  €1.2 million. “Our glass is more than half full, and there is massive support,” he said at a short press conference.

Wlazny, who joked that his announcement would probably cause “gasps” at the other parties’ headquarters, did not answer any questions after his statement but announced another press conference next week with more details. 

READ ALSO: How do Austrians elect their chancellor?

In almost all of the most recently published polls, the Beer Party would overcome the four percent hurdle, meaning Wlazny may not be the country’s next chancellor. Still, the protest party might grab seats in Austria’s National Council. The left-of-centre movement is likely to attract protest voters in particular and could be an unpleasant opponent for the SPÖ, Greens and KPÖ.

Wlazny’s previous electoral performance provides some insight into the Beer Party’s potential in the upcoming elections. In the 2022 presidential elections, the medical graduate, long known primarily as band leader Marco Pogo, came third with 8.3 percent of the vote and even came second in Vienna.

Who’s behind the beer party?

The Beer Party, a satirical political movement, was founded in 2015 by Austrian comedian, doctor, brewer, and musician Dominik Wlazny, known by his stage name Marco Pogo. The party was a response to perceived corruption and a lack of transparency in Austrian politic, aiming to bring a fresh and unconventional approach to governance.

Wlazny studied medicine in Vienna and worked as a general doctor in a hospital before quitting in 2014 to focus on music.

Wlazny said that he was inspired by one of the songs played by the punk band he was a part of, which included the lyrics: ‘If you like to be fat and drink a lot every day, then vote for us now, the Beer Party, and we’ll abolish the alcohol tax.”

More serious proposals have slowly replaced the controversial party policies. When he ran for president, Wlazny said he would vet candidates proposed as ministers, making them go through a hiring process like in a company, to seek to avoid political chaos due to unfit leaders.

Currently, the president usually doesn’t reject the government’s choices.

“I often have the feeling that it’s harder to get an apprenticeship in Austria than a ministerial post,” Wlazny said at the time.

Wlazny also said that, as president, he would want to push for establishing a so-called “Future Ministry” to check the impact of policy decisions on security, the environment, health, and other sectors.

He said measures should have been taken decades ago to avoid the country’s dependence on fossil fuels, which hurts it now amid the ripple effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

READ ALSO: Why is support for Austria’s far-right FPÖ rising?

But what are the party’s program points?

There have been none so far. The Beer Party hasn’t made its National Council election promises public and hasn’t announced a party list, at least not yet.

Austrian political commentator Thomas Hofer told the newspaper Kurier that the strategy is clever: “As long as he doesn’t have a detailed program, Wlazny remains less vulnerable in terms of content—even if this is, of course, problematic in terms of democratic politics.” 

There is also very little information on the party’s website. One page, called “menu,” holds some of the party’s general and superficial proposals, such as “active fight against child and family poverty,” “transparent and comprehensible rental price regulation,” “educational equality for all,” “expansion of the public transport network,” and more.

The party also claims women should have the “right to make decisions about their own body” and that small and medium enterprises are the “backbone of the economy” and a focus for the politicians. 

Additionally, they advocate for “appropriate doctor/patient care ratio”, “environmentally friendly, sustainable energy policy for a climate-neutral Austria”, and “promotion of research and development”, among others. 

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