Peaceful demonstration

Vienna: Protests against the blue-black government continue

Last week, tens of thousands gathered for a demonstration against the possible black-blue government in Vienna.

(Bild: Sandra Beck)

The protests against the planned blue-black government continued on a smaller scale on Thursday. After the large demonstration last week, around 500 people gathered at Ballhausplatz for the evening, according to the police. The demonstration was peaceful.

Thursday's demonstration went into the next round - this time organized by the Do.3 initiative. Several smaller protests had already been planned beforehand and at the same time, including by students from the Academy of Fine Arts on Schillerplatz. 

Around 500 participants on site
From 5 p.m., the demonstrators marched from Schillerplatz via Opernring to Heldenplatz. As in the previous week, the demonstration ended at Ballhausplatz, the seat of the Federal Chancellery, where the event ended at around 5.30 pm. This was followed by a rally. According to the police, there were around 500 participants - significantly fewer than the previous week.

Demonstrators: "Alarm for the Republic"
Last Thursday, tens of thousands of people demonstrated at Vienna's Ballhausplatz against the FPÖ's participation in government. According to the organizers, as many as 50,000 dissatisfied people gathered at the Vienna city rally under the motto "Alarm for the Republic". The ÖAMTC initially stated 5,000 participants on its website, while authorities spoke of 25,000 protesters.

Last week, posters warned against agitation, social cuts, the FPÖ's closeness to Russia and steps backwards in environmental protection.

(Bild: Sandra Beck )

(Bild: Hannah Tilly)

NGOs such as Volkshilfe, Greenpeace and SOS Mitmensch had called for a human chain. "We don't want a right-wing extremist Austria", "Stand together against the right" and "Nazis out of parliament" were printed in bold letters on banners. 

Protest tradition revived
Once again, the "It's Thursday again!" initiative is gearing up for its rallies, which always take place on Thursdays. The reason for this is the ongoing blue-black government negotiations. The movement has a long history: back in October, thousands gathered at an anti-FPÖ rally in front of the Vienna parliament. This follows on from the Thursday demonstrations in 2000 and 2018/19, which were directed against the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition at the time.