"No to the gender star"

Freedom Party candidate announces gender ban for Linz

The magistrate's office has been using gender-neutral language for over ten years - the FP misses "proximity to citizens".(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

Last year, he failed in the municipal council with a motion to abolish it - as head of the city, the Freedom Party candidate for mayor of Linz, Michael Raml, could implement the plan. "If I become mayor, I guarantee that our texts will once again be accessible to everyone. Language must not be a barrier."

The gender debate flares up once again. Whether at the oldest university in the German-speaking world in Vienna, where students are suffering from language censorship, or here in Austria, where FP leader Michael Raml wants to declare war on the gender star.

According to him, what once began with the laudable intention of promoting equality between men and women in language has turned into a difficult-to-understand mixture of gender stars, inline I's and other special characters.

We need texts that are understandable for everyone - schoolchildren, senior citizens, migrants. Our language should serve people, not exclude anyone.

Michael Raml, Linzer FP-Chef, Stadtrat und Bürgermeister-Kandidat

Raml calls for plain language in the town hall
"Official German is already difficult enough. The language must be such that all citizens can understand it - regardless of education, age or origin," emphasizes the libertarian. The German Spelling Council also has a clear stance: special characters have no place in official texts. This recommendation has even been implemented in the Chancellery Regulations of the state of Lower Austria in order to ensure the legibility and comprehensibility of official documents. "Why does Lower Austria do this but Linz doesn't?" asks Raml provocatively.