Mostly peaceful

Protests in Vienna: ÖAMTC warns of traffic chaos

Temporary traffic closures and traffic diversions were set up in the demonstration area in Vienna city center.

(Bild: Hannah Tilly)

Just four days after the national elections, an anti-FPÖ rally took place. Thousands of people protested under the slogan "It's Thursday again". There were temporary traffic closures and traffic diversions in the demonstration area.

"It's Thursday again on October 3rd" was the slogan of the demonstration held on Thursday evening against the possible participation of the FPÖ in government. The "It's Thursday again!" initiative is thus building on the Thursday demonstrations from 2000 and 2018/19, which were directed against the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition at the time.

The aim of the protests back then was to draw attention to what the organizers saw as a discrepancy between the values of the FPÖ and the basic principles of constitutional democracy. The demonstrators were thus exercising their fundamental right to freedom of assembly.

Due to the large number of demonstrators, there are considerable delays in local public transport.

(Bild: Hannah Tilly)

Large-scale barriers were erected around the demonstration area.

(Bild: Hannah Tilly)

The protest march expresses its stance with the help of inscribed signs.

(Bild: Hannah Tilly)

The organizers expect a crowd of up to 10,000 demonstrators.

(Bild: Hannah Tilly)

Protest march against possible FPÖ government participation
"We see it as our responsibility to show quickly and emphatically that we and the majority in Austria do not want the FPÖ to join the government," says Natalie Assmann, a spokesperson and organizer who was already involved in the demonstrations in 2018. 

Short-term change of route
At around 7.30 pm, the "Thursday demo" marched through Vienna's city center. According to the organization, the demonstrators had initially planned to gather at 6 p.m. in front of the parliament in Vienna's first district, but this was changed at short notice on Tuesday, as a cordon was imposed around the parliament due to a planned Federal Council meeting. The demonstration now started at Vienna's main university at Schottentor.

The demonstrators' signs read "Zwickl instead of Kickl" and "People's Chancellor is so 1933", among other things. Apart from a few protesters who set off pyrotechnics, the demonstration was probably calm. The LPD Vienna could not be reached for comment on Thursday evening.

Demonstrators report a "peaceful atmosphere"
According to the organizers, around 25,000 people marched through Vienna's city centre that evening during the second edition of the "Thursday demo". Official figures from the police are not yet available.

Before the demonstrators set off from the University of Vienna, some activists gave speeches to underline the aim of the protest: no federal government with FPÖ participation. "The FPÖ is a security problem," was shouted at the participants by the moderator.

Author Eva Geber sees the FPÖ as a threat to women's rights in particular. Everywhere it governs, women's rights are being curtailed. This is shown, for example, by the Salzburg "stove premium" as well as less money for protection against violence. Alon Ishay, President of the Jewish Student Union, dedicated his speech to anti-Semitism: "The alarm bells are ringing among young Jews". He went so far as to ask himself whether he would leave Austria should there be a blue chancellor: "The idea of fleeing is not impulsive, it is deliberate and omnipresent".

Demonstrators on the ground told the "Krone" newspaper that the atmosphere was very relaxed and peaceful. Loud music and chants accompanied the protest march.

The protesters received political support from the Vienna Greens, who were also on site to support the rally. They also called on the SPÖ women to take part in the demonstration under the motto "Fix zam gegen rechts!". 

Civil society engagement against right-wing extremism is important, also to remind others of their pre-election promises.

Grüne-Klubobfrau Sigrid Maurer

Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER

The Green Club leadership with Sigrid Maurer and Meri Disoski also took part in the demonstration. Before the start, the Green Party leader said: "Civil society engagement against right-wing extremism is important, also to remind others of their pre-election promises", alluding to the statements made by several high-ranking ÖVP representatives that they would not form a coalition with Herbert Kickl. "The most important office of the state must not fall into the hands of the far right," she said, contradicting the ÖVP and SPÖ, who recently said that the party with the most votes should nominate the President of the National Council.

25 years of protest history
The Thursday demonstrations can look back on a long history of protest. Almost 25 years ago, when the first black-blue coalition was inaugurated in February 2000, more than 150,000 people gathered in front of Heldenplatz to demonstrate against the new ÖVP-FPÖ government and its feared "racism and social cuts". 

A large group of demonstrators had already come together in 2018 to protest against the turquoise-blue government under Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The organization looks back on 25 years of protest history.

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The demonstrators proved to be steadfast, as rallies with thousands of demonstrators took place every week for the next two years. The participants at the time were even able to gain access to the Marriott Hotel, where the then FPÖ Finance Minister Karl-Heinz-Grasser and ÖVP Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel were due to appear. Austrian writer Elfriede Jelinek was among those who took part in so-called "resistance readings".

18 years later, the protest was revived. This time, the protest action was used as a reason for the then turquoise-blue government under Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and FPÖ Vice-Chancellor Heinz Christian Strache. Protests took place not only in Vienna, but also in Linz and Innsbruck. The demonstrations came to a natural end when the Ibiza affair broke up the coalition. 

It is a very important evening. So that the many people who did not vote for the FPÖ have the opportunity to get involved.

Natalie Assmann, Sprecherin der Organisation „wiederdonnerstag“

Delays in the center of Vienna
According to the ÖAMTC, there were temporary traffic closures and traffic divisions in the entire demonstration area. Specifically, the entire streetcar line 2 and traffic on the Vienna Ring were affected. There were also delays in the areas of Schwarzenbergplatz, Karlsplatz, Rechte Wienzeile and Wiedner Hauptstraße. There were also delays in the adjacent streets.