Communist Party of Austria
by Johann Hollish

Dear Comrades,

In my speech, I will refer to the present situation in
Austria. The new quality of the situation consists to the
cancellation from the part of the Christian Democratic
Austrian People's Party (OVP) of their 13-years old
co-operation with the Social-democrats, to enter a
coalition government with the liberty Party (FP), an
extreme right-wing party, tainted with racism and
xenophobia. For the first time since at least 30 years, the
Social-democratic Party (SPO) is no longer a government
participant. With the �black blue� coalition, a reactionary
government has been formed, a government pushing further,
at an unbelievable speed, the dissolution of the welfare
state, the sell-out and the miniaturisation of Austria, in
alliance with EU-policies already started under the APP-SPA
governments. The LPA is, before everything, a party
connecting the neoliberal reaction restructuring with
extreme right wing racist and xenophobic slogans.

The outrage concerning the formation of this government
exceeds vastly Austria's boarders. It is a good thing that
the participation of an extreme right wing party to a
government is not lightly accepted. Right wing extremism
is, however, not the role and only Austria's problem. Those
who are opposing seriously right wing extremism and racism
in Europe are not allowed to turn a blind eye to Maasticht
or Schengen. A substantial cause of the rise of these
trends lies in mass unemployment and the programs of social
�slash-and-burn policies� dictated by Brussels.

Looking at the acts of Social-democracy but also of the
Greens in the new situation, we must state that both these
parties remain prisoners of the neoliberal way of thought
and for this very reason, do not even think to any effort
of alternative solution.

With the recent change of the Party Presidium of the SPA,
many people have fallen in to new illusions that the SPA,
with its new President, would begin now a more clear-cut
socially oriented opposition policy. Only some days ago,
however, the new SPA chief Gusenbauer, in an interview,
sung praise the so-called new performance society as future
orientation. For Gusenbauer too, the future of this
performance society lies in the �own responsibility� and
�own care� of the individual and not in the �hammock
socialism�. This is the formal merger with the
Schrder-Blair course. Capital, unjust distribution
policies, total privatisation and the onslaught against the
organised labour movement are not even mentioned any longer
- and if they are, this happens only in order to cover the
reward of petty demagogy.

Throughout Austria, thousands of people, many cultural
workers among them, reacted to the new situation with
protests and resistance. Under the slogans �Resistance� and
�Against black-blue, racism, sexism and social slash-and
burn policies� demonstrations are going on ever since the
300.000 - demonstration of 19.2, in Vienna demonstrate
thousands every Thursday. It is a movement, moving out of
Parliament, with broad forces in its composition,
presenting intense differentiation. To it participate
people resolute to protect democracy. The new quality shown
by its degree of acceptance by the population. In it, take
part people who participate in the part for the first time
in such political manifestation, The resistance is
supported and aided actively by the CPA. No support,
however, is to see by the trade union federation, the SPA
and the Greens.

There, are dominating wide political perplexity, incapacity
and refusal to develop politics out of Parliament.

The attitude of the social0democratically dominated trade
union is, in the final instance, of decisive importance as
to if resistance will be efficient and of decisive
importance as to if and when if will be possible to
overthrow this government. Precisely for this reason, we
consider positive the efforts, developed in the latest
weeks, of the movement to involved trade unionists or trade
unions. The plays of Federal government to change the
pensions' regime, taking it away from public
responsibility, the massive degradation of pension and the
postal service constitute a factor of pressure on the trade
union leadership.

The first actions of protest and fight are under
consideration. At the 28th of June, there will be an
Austria-wide Action Day of the Austrian Trade Union
Federation. In the framework of the Action Day, there will
be 2 to 1 hour warning strike of rail workers' The workers,
of the Vienna Transport System participate in this strike.
The attitude of Social-democracy is more than cautious in
this case too. Even last Sunday, their Party President
warned against strike actions.

In the city of Vienna, governed by SPA together with APP,
there is in the municipal council a SPA and Green majority.
There, the Social-democrats and the Greens have many
possibilities, to prove that they are willing to take a
different path. However, the city is now in a way not
substantially different than the Federation. Privatisations
and the execution of the EU and Federation dictates are the
day-to-day reality there too. All measures tend to destroy
communal economy and gear it to a space of capital
utilisation.

As long as the social-democrats have not managed to develop
a different policy in a positive way, there will be no
credible alternative for those who turned away from them,
following LPA demagogue .

The strength of the LPA corresponds to the weakness of the
Left forces. Thirty years of social-democtaic
chancellorship have been proved to be no protection against
such a right wing development. What is most EU-countries is
normal, that is a parliamentary representation of the Left
forces at the very least, in Austria non-existent. That is
why the CPA sees one of its most important tasks of
alliance policy the development of an electoral- political
alternative to the left of SPA and the Greens.
Thank you for your attention .