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HUBERT'S DESK

Hubert von Goisern: Comment on Election 2008

29th/30th September 2008 | Text: Hubert von Goisern

what a bloody mess!

with the result of the austrian national election, the biblical saying "Where three have come together, i am there among them" is given new meaning. it's incredible that the right-wing camp is at 30%. though the most depressing thing of all is that the most reactionary, retrogressive party won the most votes with the under-30s, a hefty 25%!
it was said in the 60s that one should beware of the over-30s. now exactly the opposite seems to be true.

of course it can't be denied that the situation 40 years ago was one of departure and relative recklessness, while the young people of today didn't just inherit a pile of rubbish, but were also born into a world of upheaval. however "the good old days" evoked by those on the right are an illusion. there's no way back. retreating and sealing yourselves off has never been a solution, otherwise things will only get worse. we live in a world in which we need each other.

but it's not over til the fat lady sings and we're still a long way off from it being time to emigrate.
unimaginable, but desirable for many would be a 3 party coalition: red-black-green.

i've never been as sad after an election as i am this time. and now there's the resignation of ALEXANDER VAN DER BELLEN. understandable after such a disappointment, but what a loss for politics, for austria. THE MAN BELONGS IN GOVERNMENT! precisely because he is what he is: competent and a man of integrity.

that alone is a rare combination in politics and he has a friendly, polite nature to add to this. considering the idiocy and spitefulness of our political landscape, these are all qualities to which i take off my hat.

and then there are the non-voters - i wondered myself about not voting this time, as the result was foreseeable. namely that the blacks would lose, the reds would get one in the eye, but be ahead by a nose and the fruits of this would fall into the lap of the right; and so once more there would be a grand coalition. but i'm happy to have cast my vote - one can see what the non-voters have done. ignorance is no better than stupidity. yes, to me voting out of protest is pubescent stupidity. if one really wants a change of situation in the political landscape it's not enough to vote for a brayer. the greens could have led a better election campaign. but is it not exactly this absence of gimmickry with van der bellen that so refreshingly sets him apart from the fairytale-tellers and barons of lies?

hubert von goisern