Impressions of Vorarlberg
Posted by softrockcookie
with update! (see below)
It’s my second time now within 3 months that I spend my time in Vorarlberg to support the YS Vorarlberg (Sozialistische Jugend Vorarlberg) in their election campaign and in their attempt to build a strong Marxist youth organisation.
This time I do not only work and discuss with people that are already comrades or are willing to become a comrade, but also with many undecided young people and workers who are going to vote for the regional parliament (Landtag) on Sunday, 20th septembre. We participate in the election campaign with our own candidate, Lukas Riepler (24), the chairman of the YS Vorarlberg. His election program is based upon the demands of the students’ and apprentices’ movement in spring, “We will not pay for the capitalist crisis!” and differs in some important points from that of the SPÖ.
My impressions of the electoral campaign are marked by ambivalent observations but also by extreme caution (for the political development in Austria).
- Foreign workers and young people are extremely friendly to us and favor our programme, studying it intensively and giving us positive feedback.
- Native workers and especially young apprentices have a huge aversion against the SPÖ (Socialdemocratic Party of Austria) and its programme. They are oftenly unfriendly and will eventually vote for the reactionary and enterprise-friendly FPÖ (“Freedom” Party of Austria).
- School students are somewhat ambivalent. Those who are more interested in politics (mostly students from higher, not-work-oriented, general schools) reject the FPÖ and their racist propaganda. The others also tend to reduce next to everything to “foreigners out!”. Generally, foreign students have a far more positive approach to us than Austrians.
This is shocking, because most of the native young workers do not care about politics and see none but one problem in society: foreigners. Any other topic doesn’t really matter to them (at least not at the moment). They don’t see that the FPÖ has nothing left for the apprentices. It is quite shocking that they are going to vote for a party that will not create any jobs for them or has to offer them anything.
However, there are groups of youngsters who make more far-sighted conclusions about society and the future and who are also in the apprentices’ schools or at work places. These people will in the future stand on the forefront of the working class movement and will at the right time build a base amongst their colleagues who are not yet open for socialist politics.
For more information and our election program, read YS Vorarlberg online (in German) !
Update from 14th novembre 2009
As things are changing rapidly and the YS Vorarlberg intervening rightly in different movements and political events, they can manage to render the situation explained above. Right now, they are beginning with the establishment of committees in schools, as well as gaining support in “polytechnical schools” (apprentices’ schools).