ΑΠΟΜΟΝΩΣΤΕ ΤΗ ΝΕΟΦΑΣΙΣΤΙΚΗ ΑΥΣΤΡΙΑΚΗ ΚΥΒΕΡΝΗΣΗ

European Grassroots Antiracist Movement: EGAM   Open Editorial: Austria: The government must be excluded from Europe Following the return of the Austrian far-right to the government, which, as a fatal sign of the times was met with extremely weak reactions from civil society and officials, Benjamin Abtan writes an Open Editorial in Libération (France), Der Standard (Austria), To Vima, (Greece) Publico (Portugal), Le Devoir (Canada) and other prominent newspapers. Read the entire Op-Ed below: "There is no fatality to the rise of the nationalists in Europe. To turn the tide, our commitment to the Austrian Democrats must be active and flawless."

Austria: The government must be excluded from Europe   By Benjamin Abtan, President of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement – EGAM, Coordinator of the Elie Wiesel Network of Parliamentarians of Europe for the Prevention of Mass Atrocities Let’s say it clearly; the heirs of Nazism hold a strong position in the new Austrian government. As a result, European states and civil society must act with determination to exclude this government from Europe and to boycott the Austrian presidency of the European Union. I know that this position, which was consensual during the FPÖ's previous participation in the government from 2000 to 2006, is no longer so. Would the Nazi heritage be less infamous today than yesterday? Would the exterminatory nature of the party's ideological referents be less dangerous today than it was yesterday? Indeed, if it is essentially the anti-Muslim and xenophobic discourse, particularly against refugees, which have allowed the FPÖ to return to the forefront of the political scene, then its ideological matrix has not changed. The anti-Semitic incidents which have punctuated the campaign, including certain borderline anti-Semitic declarations by the new Chancellor Kurz, have shown that anti-Semitism is progressing and becoming more virulent in its political expression; in the FPÖ as in other movements and parties. A certain erasing of the memory of the Shoah, owing to the growing distance in time and the disappearance of survivors, particularly in such countries which have not known true de-Nazification or serious work on memory, play a role in the permissiveness with which the FPÖ has once again entered the government. Similarly, nationalism exercises a certain attraction over youth, in Austria like elsewhere, and counts them amongst its most important supporters. What constitutes the fatal Austrian originality is the apathy of civil society. In the two months that negotiations with the far right have taken place with a view to forming a government, civil society has not seriously made its voice heard. As though the control of the Vice-Chancellery by a close ally of the Neo-Nazis, and of the highest State Ministries by his party, are not worth strong mobilizations. Actions by European states and civil society, in Austria as elsewhere on the continent, should thus be vigorous and determined. To not confront this government, beyond some formal protests, would be a major political and moral mistake. It means to avoid the fracturing of our continent and the European Union in regards to both the values of our societies and the nature of our political systems. This divide has already begun, notably between the West and East, where several regimes can no longer be considered democratic, such as in Hungary and Poland. It concerns the entirety of our continent, where the attachment to the values of equality, justice and freedom that form the basis of democracy is no longer unanimous amongst its population. Recently, the huge European demonstration of 60 000 extremist nationalists in Warsaw has illustrated the strength of the radical challenge to these values. This fracturing could be fatal for the EU, for liberal democracy as a political system, and for the values of our countries. European civil society and European states must exclude the Austrian government. Concretely, this means first and foremost popular mobilisations in Austria. Associations, intellectuals, artists, citizens and local authorities must act together with foreigners to mark international solidarity, to bring democracy to life. These mobilizations must be accompanied by demonstrations of support by civil society in other European countries. This equally means, as with the common European position in 2000, far-right Ministers must not be received by their European counterparts, who must not participate in any meeting with them. During state visits of Chancellor Kurz or Ministers of his party, civil society must signal a resounding rejection of his alliance with the FPÖ. This would also imply a boycott of the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union between July 1st and December 31st 2018 by heads of states and governments in order to highlight through action the importance of the humanist values of Europe. Finally, it is essential to launch ambitious European initiatives, which notably put youth at their heart, encouraging their support and the deepening of democracy. For example, the generalisation of the circulation of young people in Europe through a “Universal Erasmus,” supported by youth across the continent, would contribute to the building of a European identity and civil society. These are fundamental to the existence of common institutions, and their creation is directly opposite to the projects of hatred and confinement proposed by nationalism and Islamism. The nature of a shared European future depends in part on our reaction to the accession of the FPÖ to a position of strength at the heart of the Austrian government. In Austria and beyond, we must live up to these challenges.

Γιάννης Δερμεντζόγλου (tvxs.gr)