Urban political uproar

Vienna Festival: Tax money for Israel haters

Actionism as early as the festival program preview.

(Bild: Franzi Kreis)

Provocation is the order of the day at this year's Wiener Festwochen festival, including outlandish opinions on the Middle East conflict at the taxpayer's expense. Vienna's City Councillor for Culture Veronika Kaup-Hasler had to answer for this in the Vienna City Council on Monday.

The proclamation of a "Free Republic of Vienna", interrogations with lie detectors and trial shows in which "the whole of Austria is summoned before the tribunal": This is what the Vienna Festival under the new artistic director Milo Rau will be offering from May 17 - dominated by a "Council of the Republic". In addition to deserving personalities and representatives of the population, there are also a few others whose hair-raising opinions on Israel and the Palestinians were discussed in the Vienna City Council on Monday.

Entry ban in Germany, "council member" in Vienna
The "council" includes the Greek former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who was recently banned from entering the country by Germany for "anti-Semitic and anti-Israel propaganda", and the French writer Annie Ernaux, who advocates the boycott of Israeli culture and supports the BDS group, which aims to isolate the state of Israel economically and thus render it unable to act. BDS is classified as an anti-Semitic organization by the Austrian National Council.

The Swiss Milo Rau was presented as the new director of the festival last summer.

(Bild: Michiel Devijver)

Kaup-Hasler still "proud" of Rau
Following a question from the ÖVP, Vienna's City Councillor for Culture Veronika Kaup-Hasler had to answer for the questionable Festwochen campaign. She explained that Rau's ideas were to be understood "artistically and not politically" and that she was still "very proud to have such an internationally renowned artist in the city". Beyond that, she would not influence the program of the festival.

There is no place for anti-Semitism at the Wiener Festwochen.

Kulturstadträtin Veronika Kaup-Hasler

Bild: EVA MANHART / APA / picturedesk.com

"Dialogue" instead of "tests of opinion"
According to Kaup-Hasler, Rau's aim is to "allow dialog" without "tests of opinion" in all directions: FPÖ members are also represented on the "council", for example, and the climate campaigners are also facing one of the "tribunals". When asked specifically about the positions of Varoufakis and Ernaux, Kaup-Hasler admitted: "Boycotting is always the wrong approach" and that "propaganda" should not take place at the festival. In the case of questionable content, there are also "enough mechanisms: there is the judiciary, there is the media ..." Varoufakis and Ernaux would not be coming to Vienna themselves, Kaup-Hasler also promised.

However, Kaup-Hasler conceded that Rau's intentions should be better communicated. ÖVP local councillor Laura Sachslehner described the statements made by the City Councillor for Culture as "completely unacceptable": instead of "finally showing a clear edge", Kaup-Hasler glossed over the fact that anti-Semitism was being offered a stage at the festival. Only recently, the municipal council voted unanimously - and thus with the votes of the SPÖ - against inviting Varoufakis and Ernaux to the festival.