It is difficult for every observer who has a keen interest in everything in Austria to see a good and proud country that has experienced such political turmoil. At stake: the ruling conservative Austrian People’s Party (OVP) confuses the country and voters, as if the country is a self-help checkpoint for political ambitions rather than the world’s leading democracy with influential seats in UN agencies.

Let's look back at the events of last week-but please wear well-known seat belts, because things are going fast here.

First, a few weeks ago, in light of serious corruption allegations, Sebastian Kurz resigned as prime minister; of course, every citizen was innocent until he was found guilty. His successor is Alexander Schellenberg. Secondly, late last week, at 11:30 a.m. on an otherwise peaceful morning, Kurz announced his resignation from all parties and political positions, including the influential chairman of the parliamentary party group. Third, as the roller coaster continued, Schellenberg also resigned as prime minister. As the major reorganization of the OVP top management officially began, Schellenberg was succeeded by the former Minister of the Interior Karl Nehammer (Karl Nehammer), and more needs to be done. Confused?

With 18 days to go before Christmas, the capital Vienna has already begun to circulate jokes about whether there will be another 18 prime ministers appearing in front of the bewildered public.

However, the situation is too serious to be a joke. Obviously, Kurz and his inner circle manipulate the political system, manipulate the political class, and disrespect the standards of how to do things and how to evaluate public office. They not only manipulate the political class, but also the voters, what happened after the possibility of recruiting rotating doctors to provide false data to the public, although the survey of pollsters is still ongoing-of course, the same comment is valid as described above , Was not guilty before being found guilty.

Most importantly, just as citizens need to take a break from breaking news, Finance Minister Gernot Blümel also announced this day. By late Saturday, a list of who will take over which department and who might stay is circulating in the media. This may be the most shocking situation that Austria has faced since the end of World War II.

Everything started so hopefully. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs and a dazzling star in Austrian politics, Kurz announced a thorough reform of the political system, ending the way many people consider outdated, like a small group of state affairs. Voters praised his approach and sent his team back to the office at the end of 2019. He has served as prime minister since 2017, but then his alliance with the far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) collapsed due to the Ibiza corruption scandal. The data for 2019 speaks for itself-37.5% of the public votes in favor of Kurtz and his reorganized party is not a piece of cake at all. This is indeed a rock-solid victory for the ballot box. The bosses of the regional party (we will discuss this further below) are very satisfied, that people on such a relatively new political arena have obtained the majority of votes, and are very satisfied, and by a large margin.

The author of this article witnessed it with his own eyes in 2019, because in the last election campaign, a large group of people gathered in Vienna; Kurz staged an American-style election show with a huge screen to the audience and all over the country. Voter TV shows pop star-like images. Manfred Weber, a well-known conservative politician in Germany, went to Austria to support Kurz. After all, he has become the darling of the political class in Western Europe.

In retrospect, this is "(former US President Donald) Trumpian", if this expression makes sense. The longer the party congress lasts, the louder and louder the voice, and candidates for public office are almost yelling at the party fanatics at the rally. But this is a one-way communication, just a show.

What is the content? "Mangelware" as a beautiful German expression, or in a personal rather than professional translation, is a scarce commodity. Fashionable young women, young men combing their hair, and some more mature people flock in for good campaign measures.

Some people tend to point out that this is the personality of the show, but we must also be fair to Kurz. Before he became prime minister, everyone valued his way of doing things. For example, he rides a train instead of a convoy, and the number of bodyguards is small, if any. Ordinary citizens are very enthusiastic about him and are prepared to give him not only the benefit of doubt, but also a serious opportunity.

This is definitely not just an occasion, not just an event, it must convince Kurz that he feels perfect, has no judgment, is above the voters, and in principle, this is a real Teflon Mr. Long’s attitude, he believes that any scandal surrounding him or his entourage, no matter what unfortunate political decision, will not persist.

The term "Mr. Teflon" was used in politics to refer to the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair (Tony Blair), who survived crises large and small, so his nickname is "Teflon Tony".

However, a British prime minister who is likely to be in charge of his political movement has a much higher status among party members than the Austrian prime minister. Austrian commentators have speculated that it may not only be Kurz who decided to withdraw, but the influential regional party boss (see also above) was afraid of losing important time in future elections to prompt him to make a decision.

Interestingly, a model democrat can quickly become an authoritarian leader; usually, this takes many years, even decades. Did the power overwhelm him, or did he always have a master plan? Or, compared to other older politicians, is the epidemic too much for leaders with relatively little experience?

Neutral commentators thought that Austrian President Alexander Van der Belen would step in and use his constitutional power to dismiss the prime minister and cabinet. This is a rare occasion, but it is indeed enshrined in the Austrian Constitution. Obviously, the president is more willing to wait and let the ruling coalition composed of OVP and the Green Party come up with their own crisis solution.

However, the problem is that this attitude basically supports OVP and it clings to power anyway.

The consequences of trust in the political system can be dramatic, further triggering extreme political movements and increasing protest votes. Or, younger voters may prefer to skip politics altogether.

Will there be a quick vote? Probably the last thing on the mind of any OVP politician. Similarly, the Green Party may be ousted. Will the Socialists and the Liberal Party plus the Green Party copy the new German model? What about FPO?

Penning these lines on Sunday and one day before theoretically a new Cabinet has been sworn in, only one thing is certain: Pandemic or no, elected office holders should not gamble away hard-earned public trust by putting personal career interests first instead of duly serving The whole nation.

Kurz may have retired from politics, but the legacy of his brief reign may trouble Austrian politics in the next few years.

Please click to read the text of the information we wrote in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act No. 6698, and obtain information about the cookies used on our website in accordance with relevant laws.

6698: 351 ways