100 years of the Republic: "We're fine, but the signs are in a storm"

100 years of the Republic: "We're fine, but the signs are in a storm"

VIENNA. State Ceremony on the Occasion of the Anniversary: ​​Writer Maja Haderlap has moved with her speech.

The President of the Sobotka National Council, Federal Chancellor Kurz, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and his wife Doris Schmidauer were in a good mood. Image: APA

The official Austria of the 100th anniversary of the Republic was commemorated Monday by a state ceremony. Due to the renovation of Parliament, he was invited to the National Opera decorated with white hydrangeas and red polyantha roses.

Current and former politicians, religious dignitaries, old Austrians, artists and students had gathered in the audience. The national anthem was sung by the Philharmonic and the presents sang with hesitation.

The federal president, Alexander Van der Bellen, drew a parallel with today: the first republic failed quickly, unlike 1918, we had learned in 1945 errors and put the common before the division. "We understood that the world is neither black nor white." An insight that we can remember these days reminded the head of state.

"Liberal democracy is more than the rule of the majority," Van der Bellen said. We must also listen to minorities. No enemy image like Muslims, foreigners or welfare recipients should be installed. No matter who might need help. Democracy must be uncompromising with regard to intolerance.

Common and divider

It seemed that Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (VP) had received Van der Bellen's speech in advance. "Together means that everyone does not have to think the same thing," he replied. It is always in a respectful tone. Welcome briefly those invited by the survivors of the Shoah Republic. Austria has not taken responsibility for too long, he said.

Kurz's speeches, Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache (FP), National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (VP) and Burgenland Governor Hans Niessl (SP) go hardly into the depths. Writer Maja Haderlap, who wrote the bestseller "Angel of Forgetfulness", with her brilliant speech, is an intellectual counterpoint.

The Carinthian Slovenes welcomed the bilingual participants, only Strache let them out. She did not hide that she had launched the invitation to deliver this speech in "an inexorable circle of doubts".

Past Work: The remains of the monarchy's multilingual culture were extinguished with the Anschluss. Since joining the EU, Austria has been reintegrated into a multilingual Europe.

Video: State Act with reminders

The optimized person

Haderlap cautioned against considering the state as a business and citizens as optimized people rather than as individuals acting ethically. "I have the fear that the man perceived as a mistake can be removed from the public perception."

She also criticized social media and digitization. People would give the digital giant more and more control over our actions. "We're fine, but the signs of the times are in a storm," warned Haderlap.

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