Protest in Graz

Styria’s economic engine turns into a total loss

Many inner-city entrepreneurs in Graz responded to the call of the WKO around Josef Herk and Bernhard Bauer on Thursday.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian)

On Thursday, the WKO called for a protest against the city hall coalition on Graz's main square. Many entrepreneurs were there and are pushing for solutions to the current problems.

That doesn't happen every day: In the middle of the main square, the Styrian Chamber of Commerce invited people to protest against city politics on Thursday morning. Dozens of entrepreneurs responded to the call and vented their displeasure at the current events in the town hall. A huge poster underlined the concerns of the business community.

"31 percent of all Styrian municipal tax revenue comes from Graz - the provincial capital is therefore the engine of the Styrian economy," explains WKO President Josef Herk. "However, this engine has started to stutter. And with ideological cylinder deactivation, at some point there will be a choke and we simply can't afford that," the trained mechanic chooses a figurative comparison to the status quo of the city's economy.

According to the WKO's Institute for Economic and Location Development, the number of employers in the Mur metropolis has collapsed in recent years: In trade, for example, the number of businesses fell from 1977 in 2008 to 1616 most recently (-18.3%) - in industry from 581 to 478 (-17.7%).

Manifesto "City or standstill?"
"We can no longer look past the problems in the town hall, these have an impact on the entire location," warns WKO Regional Office Chairman Bernhard Bauer. "We need a policy that recognizes that a city does not only live from socio-political projects and traffic calming!" The Chamber also presented the manifesto "City or standstill?". This contains proposed solutions - ranging from a dynamic parking guidance system to more flexible opening hours - and also includes the introduction of a mediation office to remove bureaucratic hurdles.

The fact that many stores are now empty, even in prime locations, also worries the entrepreneurs who have joined the protest. "Vacancies are an expression of the fact that the situation is problematic. We don't want to miss the moment, because at some point, as is already the case in many district towns, you reach the point where you can no longer react," says Martin Auer, head of the bakery chain of the same name, with conviction. Taking cars out of the city center is understandable, "but if accessibility is restricted, that means limitation".

Jeweler Hans Schullin has also joined the protest.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian/Christian Jauschowetz)

He receives support from jeweler Hans Schullin: "As downtown merchants, we depend on our products being visible. We also urgently need parking facilities - why not a ring of garages around the old town like in Udine?"

Boutique owner Carina Harbisch is also aware of the problem: "We had an extreme drop in sales last year. The biggest problem is accessibility. I have the feeling that people simply don't want to go into the city anymore because they can't park anywhere."

Carina Harbisch also struggled with a drop in turnover last year.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian/Christian Jauschowetz)

Three representatives of the "Move it" transport initiative launched a counter-protest on Tuesday morning. "Graz needs innovations instead of negative campaigns", they had placarded. A photo on one of the posters was immediately recognized by one of the business people as a picture from the 1970s, "and what does that have to do with the current problems of the economy?".

Protest just an election stunt for the KPÖ?
Sahar Mohsenzada, chairwoman of the Graz KPÖ, sees Thursday's protest as "a transparent game, after all, the WKO elections are taking place in March." The statements made by the WKO representatives were unobjective and politically motivated. KPÖ district councillor and entrepreneur Andreas Zettler would like to see more commitment from the WKO for small and micro-entrepreneurs. "A statutory representation of interests, of which you are a compulsory member as an entrepreneur, should not be the spearhead of the ÖVP's jibes," says Zettler.