Monday, February 12th marks the 90th anniversary of the outbreak of the February struggles of 1934, which led to the ban of social democracy and the cementing of the corporate state dictatorship. “It was the final elimination of democracy in the First Republic,” said Bernd Dobesberger, the education chairman of the state SP, on Sunday at the memorial event at the party headquarters on Linzer Landstrasse.
“Never again is now”
The first shots were fired here – in the former Hotel Schiff – 90 years ago. After a wreath-laying ceremony in the inner courtyard, the lecture “Never again is now” by the German political scientist Nadja Meisterhans was on the program. She tried to draw a connection to the present.
Democracy is “in danger again,” said Meisterhans. This can be seen, for example, in the rise of right-wing populist and right-wing extremist parties and movements. They would use upheavals and crises for their rise. “They don’t solve crises, they have no interest in that,” said Meisterhans. “They only exploit crises for their own purposes.”
“This is a politics of fear and resentment,” said Meisterhans. And even if you can’t compare the periods directly, that was similar in the interwar period to what it is now. “We are in a phase of upheaval. There are losers and people who are afraid.”
“As democratic citizens, we are called upon to defend democracy” and counteract this, said Meisterhans, who also taught for some time at the Linz Kepler University (JKU). “We have to work for a robust democracy. If we don’t, the abyss is likely.”
Where does a crumbling democracy lead? From Meisterhans’ point of view, first of all, to models of an “illiberal democracy” such as in Hungary under Viktor Orban, in which control mechanisms such as independent media or an independent judiciary, civil society commitment and democratic elements apart from elections (e.g. co-determination in universities, schools, operated) would be pushed back and abolished. This is “a leadership democracy” and in reality “the end of democracy,” said Meisterhans.
SP state party leader Michael Lindner was unable to attend the memorial event on Sunday due to illness. According to the announcement, he would have spoken about the state SP’s current democracy package.
Babler am Montag in Steyr
Today, Monday, there are further commemorative events for February 12, 1934: In Steyr, SP leader Andreas Babler will be the keynote speaker at the commemorative event in the Ennsleite district at 3:30 p.m., before he travels on to the Vienna February commemoration at the Goethehof in Kaisermühlen (6 p.m.). A torchlight procession will take place at the St. Martin city cemetery in Traun at 5 p.m.
Author
Markus Staudinger
Managing editor, deputy Head of Politics Department
Markus Staudinger
