Behind the scenes

Leitkultur becomes a pain for the ÖVP

According to the ÖVP, brass band music is part of the dominant culture.

(Bild: Jürgen Radspieler)

In search of the culprit for the Leitkultur campaign: nobody in the ÖVP wants to be responsible.

When something goes really wrong, everyone cleans up after themselves. That's the mood in the Federal Chancellery at the moment. Since the launch of the Leitkultur agenda turned into an embarrassment with pork schnitzel with cranberries, brass band music and a maypole, nobody in the Chancellery wants to be responsible for the faux pas. The reason: nobody understood the "Leit" slur - "Leit" for "people" - and the derogatory multicultural wording was reminiscent of FPÖ campaigns 20 years ago.

Raab only feels responsible for expert advice
Because of the "unspeakable subject matter", sociologist and political consultant Kenan Güngör also refused to be a member of Raab's "Leitkultur" expert council. ÖVP Secretary General Christian Stocker had to admit that the subjects were unsuccessful. Integration Minister Susanne Raab (ÖVP) does not want to see a portrait photo of her in connection with the Leitkultur subject because, according to her press spokesperson, she was not responsible for it. According to Raab's cabinet, the minister was only responsible for the expert advice.

Integration Minister Susanne Raab

(Bild: SEPA.Media/Michael Indra)

In other words, the debate about the "Leitkultur" was a pipe burst before it really got going. As the "Krone" learned, ÖVP Chancellor Karl Nehammer is also said to have been "quite miffed because it's not his style", according to an insider. The clearance lines had not been adhered to in the Chancellery. "In the end, it will be up to the social media team because nobody wants to take responsibility," said an insider.

How could the ÖVP's faux pas happen? Although the subjects look like an ÖVP campaign, they were actually only designed as so-called sharepics for social media. It therefore appears that they did not require approval from the chancellor. A sharepic is a text-and-image combination that has an emotional impact and is ideally liked and shared frequently on social media.

This is not the first time that a social media campaign has caused enormous damage.