Fuss over posters

“Sign against the right”: must residents go to court?

Green MP Nadine Kasper and her father wanted to send a "signal against the right".

(Bild: Nadine Kasper)

Because a man from Bürmoos (Salzburg) wanted to openly draw attention to the shift to the right in Austria with a poster he had designed himself, the authorities became aware of him - they are said to have received a complaint. Suddenly, an FPÖ poster was put up opposite the house, which was then removed. The resident denies the robbery: nevertheless, he is threatened with a summons ...

With only four days to go until the election, things are getting pretty ugly in many places, especially with politically motivated slogans and graffiti on posters. A man from Bürmoos near Salzburg and his daughter - Vorarlberg Green Party MP Nadine Kasper - wanted to send a "signal against the right" and designed a rather elaborate poster on his garden fence. When her father was threatened with a summons from the authorities, his daughter made the case public on Platform X.

Public appeal "against the right"
"Shortly before the election, we wanted to make the residents of Bürmoos aware once again of the impending shift to the right in the event of an FPÖ victory by Herbert Kickl. We wanted to take a clear stand." The posters read "Kickl is poison for our future" and "We've had brown before, it was shit". There is also a list of what the population would sacrifice if the FPÖ were to win the National Council elections and a call for our multicultural existence, whereby our "numbers are Arabic" and democracy is based on "Greek origins". 

Fuss over accusation by civil servants
That was probably too much for one observer - two Lamprechtshausen police officers promptly showed up at his door. The two are said to have accused him of "damage to property" and a complaint was received, which is now being investigated by the public prosecutor's office. The officers left the 70-year-old quite surprised, as he had only just put up the poster on August 22.

A call to the police station sufficed, and the officers confirmed receipt of the complaint. However, it was presumably not, as the officers initially claimed at his door, on suspicion of damage to property - the police officers were probably mistaken. Instead, a complaint of defamation of character is said to have been made. 

Fake posters recently caused a stir in Graz.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Scheriau, Traby, zVg)

FPÖ poster put up - and removed again
The weeks following the authorities' first visit were initially uneventful. "Our posters were only graffitied once and passers-by took photos of them. Occasionally a car would drive past, a man would get out and take a photo of the sticker on the garden fence. But then he quickly drove off again," Kasper tells the "Krone" newspaper.

The situation became curious when Kasper suddenly noticed a poster advertising the FPÖ opposite his house. A short time later, the officers were at his door again. The accusation this time: a summons on suspicion of politically motivated robbery. Apparently the FPÖ poster had been removed. "The police then wanted to take me to the police station." The 70-year-old denies having stolen the poster. Kasper, visibly calm, was still having breakfast, however, as he explained to the officers: "Please send me a summons by post". 

In contrast to the charge of defamation of character for his poster, for which Kasper has not yet received a letter, this time he is waiting for his summons from the police. 

Graffiti causes uproar
Recently, there have been repeated smearings on posters - both right-wing slogans and calls for steadfastness against Kickl. Satirical posters, such as those from the "Tagespresse", have also caused outrage among the FPÖ, who have reworded campaign slogans such as "Your will be done" into "Hallowed be your name". Supporters of Kickl are visibly incensed by such comparisons - as well as those made by Elmar and his daughter Nadine Kasper. 

It should also be mentioned that Herbert Kickl himself is not sparing with questionable comparisons and propangandistic slogans. It is the same man who invented "pork chops instead of minarets" or "Daham instead of Islam", which stir up and polarize resentment in a similar way. Ultimately, the judiciary will probably determine whether the allegations against the suspects are true and what the legal consequences will be.