Tiroler Tageszeitung, editorial from August 17, 2023. By Wolfgang Sablatnig: "Political relationship work".

2023-08-16 20:00:35

Vienna (OTS) – It belongs to the small 1 x 1 of social networks: What should remain private has no place there. Many young people can sing a song about it when yesterday’s post becomes today’s problem.
Perhaps SPÖ country chief Georg Dornauer should discuss the small 1 x 1 with his new partner Alessia Ambrosi. She posted vacation photos of the couple on Instagram. The Italian right-wing politician had previously made her relationship with the Tyrolean social democrat public in an interview.
And what does Dornauer do? Instead of liking the turtle photos and posting hearts, he is “not happy”. He didn’t want it published. In general, he wanted to separate: “Politics is politics and private is private.”
In principle, Dornauer is right. Politicians can decide for themselves how much private information is made public. That’s not the case everywhere. In Austria, on the other hand, it usually works. Fortunately.
We know Alexander Van der Bellen’s wife and dog. Both are deliberately used by the Federal President’s team for the staging.
We knew a partner of Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) because she showed up with him on the red carpet in Salzburg. We have no idea about the family of FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl because he keeps his wife and son out.
We also know Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s wife, who accompanies him to the Opera Ball. But we don’t know the chancellor’s sons, they’re none of our business.
We know Nehammers can party. And that wouldn’t concern us either if security officers hadn’t caused an accident after they were drunk.
We know that Dornauer’s hunting rifle was open in the car. The offense was private. But we can expect special care from a politician.
We gossiped about the wives of the then Federal President Thomas Klestil. He publicly presented a good marriage when he had long been in a relationship.
The boundaries between a legitimate need for information and cheap voyeurism can be drawn with a little thought and good will. Sometimes, of course, they blur.
Politicians decide for themselves how much private life they show. Ambrosi chose her Instagram account – very consciously, very staged and certainly not by accident. The photos would not concern us if paparazzi had struck with the telephoto lens. But that is obviously not the case.
Private is private? Everyone has to draw their own boundaries.