"No change"

Discordant tones around the blue and yellow national anthem

A turmoil in the government district: there is discord between critics and politicians over the blue and yellow national anthem.

(Bild: P. Huber)

Oh homeland, to love you ... Once again this year, the authors' union IG Autorinnen und Autoren called for the national anthem to be changed. The governor countered: "We are proud of our country and will not be unsettled!"

The discussion was actually already over. Now the dispute over the Lower Austrian anthem has flared up again over the national holiday and is even clouding the Christmas truce.

Rewrite the work?
Once again, the authors' union IG Autorinnen und Autoren is calling for the Lower Austrian national anthem to be rewritten. The Provincial Governor has once again rejected this demand this year: "I am happy to repeat myself on this issue. In Lower Austria, we stand by the work. We will not change our anthem, but will continue to sing it with pride and enthusiasm."

Close scrutiny in 2023
Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner recalls the process that preceded this decision: back in 2023, IG Autorinnen und Autoren criticized the national anthem and demanded a change. As a result, the provincial government appointed a high-caliber commission of historians to critically examine the national anthem. The commission subsequently presented a 91-page report in which it described the text of the anthem as "unproblematic".

Our anthem remains our anthem - today and tomorrow.

Landeshauptfrau Johanna Mikl-Leitner

Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER

The chairman of the commission, Prof. Stefan Karner, emphasized in September 2023: The text of the anthem is "neither xenophobic nor anti-Semitic". Mikl-Leitner: "In Lower Austria, we take a critical look at our past, but we are just as proud of our homeland. Our anthem is an expression of this solidarity with our country."