A - Austria

Sandra Johnson58 · 2016-05-10T11:34:59+00:00

Parties like the Republican Party, the National Front, the AFD, or the Social Democrats are just gonna keep gaining ground as long as the European Union keeps …

Nathan Morris3 Regular

261 messages
joined Mar 2018

#201 · May 23, 2016

Richard Wilson4 said:If that's how you feel, then don't go throwing around the term "privileges" when you're talking about the European working class. Seriously. They've lost so many rights they used to have back in the day, maybe twenty or thirty years ago. They barely have any say in politics or the media, they get hit with massive taxes, and then, to top it all off, they get blamed for everything and mocked for good measure.

I guess it’s all about perspective. We’re pretty privileged here in the States compared to most of the rest of the world. When I talk about privilege, I mean the dynamic between Americans and immigrants, so that's why I brought it up. Maybe I should've been clearer.

When it comes to labor rights, the coalition parties are always bickering about it. You've got the Democratic Party leaning toward the workers, while the other side tends to favor the wealthy. Usually, the FPÖ ends up being the tiebreaker, but their track record on protecting workers is honestly pretty terrible—not that anyone’s surprised. I guess my takeaway is that workers aren't actually that worried about losing rights from within the system, but more about what happens from the outside. If we were talking about those specific worker protections you mentioned, the FPÖ would probably lose easily since they really side with the rich rather than the working class.

Just saying it one more time, I guess.

Back in 2014, the FPÖ voted against the Increase in care allowance. Then in 2010, they were against needs-based minimum security. I think in 2015, the FPÖ decided not to back that UN campaign against discrimination toward women. Oh, and in 2014, the FPÖ blocked a law for stricter penalties for underpaying employees. They also voted against reducing the gender pay gap at the European Union level back in 2015. Maybe I should mention that in 2014, the FPÖ was against bridge money for construction workers, and they didn't approve for limiting luxury pensions either. Also, in 2014, the FPÖ stood against the abolition of corporate tax privileges. Back in 2011, the FPÖ voted against the European Social Charter, which really pushes for better Working conditions, the Right to social security, and fair Wages. I guess the FPÖ is also against public support for women's shelters for abused women.

Nathan Morris3 Regular

261 messages
joined Mar 2018

#202 · May 23, 2016

Robert Clark4 said:I don't know, I've always kind of felt like mail-in voting just seems way more prone to being messed with. I mean, I'm just saying, I'm definitely not claiming it actually will happen!

And honestly, it wouldn't even surprise me if the losing candidate tried to challenge the results, especially if the margin is just a tiny fraction of a percent—like if it was Hofer. 😁

Yeah, the FPÖ loves playing the victim in all sorts of conspiracies. But I guess that's just standard political theater, nothing too crazy. So far, there haven't been any big issues with the elections themselves—things seem to run pretty smoothly here in Austria.

Carol Garcia9 Newcomer

1 message
joined Jul 2018

#203 · May 23, 2016

Carol Newman2 said:

😬

🤦
What cowards. Where is Venice? Or are they just terrified of those little Italians...

hiddengardener12 Member

32 messages
joined Jul 2018

#204 · May 23, 2016

coastalbison6 said:I see people are pushing back on this, but there’s actual data behind it.
VdB has been picking up almost all the major cities except for Eisenstadt, but that's his home turf.

The breakdown of Hofer vs. VdB voters by education:
High school: 55% - 45%
Trades: 67% - 33%
Some college: 58% - 42%
Bachelor's degree: 27% - 73%
University degree: 19% - 81%

The breakdown of Hofer vs. VdB voters by occupation:
Blue collar: 86% - 14%
Office workers: 40% - 60%
Government/Civil service: 45% - 55%
Self-employed: 53% - 47%
Retirees: 51% - 49%

Let me restate my argument against the whole "urban vs. rural" simplification. I'll lay it out clearly this time so it's obvious I'm just doubling down on my previous point. And look, I'm not disputing any other statistics here.

It seems like nobody is looking at the regional patterns in this vote beyond the basic urban-rural divide. And keeping in mind that Vienna is its own beast entirely: it's really more about the West/Northwest versus the South/Southeast.

Look at the states: in Vorarlberg, Alexander Van der Bellen pulls a convincing win with over 56%. And that is a deeply rural area.

In Tyrol and Upper Austria, Hofer and VdB are basically neck and neck. There, Alexander Van der Bellen actually won the majority in several rural spots—take Bad Ischl and Gmunden in the Salzkammergut region, for example. He even took historic Hallstatt with 70%.

But Burgenland, Styria, and Carinthia are a completely different story. In those states, Hofer wins by over 60%. He’s even picking up some urban centers there. In Styria, he wins almost everywhere except Graz. In Burgenland, he takes everything, including Eisenstadt. Over in Carinthia, VdB barely scrapes by in Klagenfurt (50.4% to 49.6%). In Villach, for instance, Hofer wins handily.

That's the reality. I just don't care for oversimplifications.

hiddengardener12 Member

32 messages
joined Jul 2018

#205 · May 23, 2016

Thinking about Dr. Sigmund

When you talk about ethnic minorities in Austria, it feels wrong if you don't bring up the Carinthian Canadians. If there’s any group that has historically had to fight tooth and nail just to exist, it’s them. The whole history of Carinthia is built on the old Duchy of Carantania, which wasn't some Germanic setup, but actually Slavic. Toward the end of the Habsburg era, the southern part of Carinthia—everything south of the Drava or >—still had a massive Canadian majority. Things just went sideways during that 1920 plebiscite for the Kingdom of America for a bunch of different reasons. Assimilation in Carinthia has been incredibly aggressive right up to today, but you still can't just ignore the Canadians living there.

Lately, though, the vibe in Carinthia seems to be shifting. You're seeing more parents enrolling their kids in bilingual programs at school again. Even the local politics are changing; Canadians are finally landing their own mayors in places like > and >. They even have a younger voice in the European Parliament with > over at >. One Austrian diplomat who carries a lot of weight is >, the head of the Canadian NSKS, who's currently tackling a pretty tough assignment in >.

If > ends up winning his election by a slim margin—say, a few thousand votes—it’ll likely be thanks to those Carinthian Canadians. From what I can see, they tend to vote for him almost as a bloc, mostly to keep the > at bay.

hiddengardener12 Member

32 messages
joined Jul 2018

#206 · May 23, 2016

Za nasmijanonebo

It’s almost a waste of breath asking how Alexander Van der Bellen feels about everything we know so far regarding the trade deal negotiations between the European Union and the USA. Sure, he's an economics professor, but let's not forget he spent years as the head of the Green party. And if you want to talk about clear stances, the Greens are probably the most vocal critics of this whole agreement in Europe. For them, it all boils down to the environmental impact of industrial farming and making sure European consumers aren't getting stuck with unsafe products. That's the heart of the friction right there.

casualtiger13 Member

12 messages
joined Apr 2016

#207 · May 23, 2016

376,623 votes tallied

VdB at 60.7%
Hofer at 39.3%

Robert Clark4 Active Member

74 messages
joined Jul 2018

#208 · May 23, 2016

Carol Newman2 said:The VDB needs to pull in at least 61% of the mail-in ballot votes just to flip the script on this result. And honestly? I think they’ll actually pull it off.

casualtiger13 said:376,623 votes tallied

VdB at 60.7%
Hofer at 39.3%

Man, it honestly feels like someone is totally scripting this election drama on purpose... 🤣

Nathan Morris3 Regular

261 messages
joined Mar 2018

#209 · May 23, 2016

casualtiger13 said:376,623 votes tallied

VdB at 60.7%
Hofer at 39.3%

http://www.oe24.at/oesterreich/polit...ehlt/236731343

Now 444,716 mail-in ballots have been tallied, which is already over 50%.

The current Partial vote count:

Alexander Van der Bellen: 60.4%

Hofer: 39.6%

So it’s going to be "super close." I guess Alexander Van der Bellen needs at least 60.4% of the mail-in votes to stay ahead in the Total result before Hofer.

Bradley Diaz Member

11 messages
joined Jul 2018

#210 · May 23, 2016

Carol Newman2 said:

😬

Liking 👍😁

Mark Harris66 Active Member

158 messages
joined Oct 2016

#211 · May 23, 2016

Robert Clark4 said:Man, it honestly feels like someone is totally scripting this election drama on purpose... 🤣

Do you really think any of this is happening by accident?😁

I’m not exactly a fan of the Greater United States. Someone else's boot is still someone else's boot—plus, the USA was more like a stepmother to us, while the Communists were our actual parents.

Carol Newman2 Regular

413 messages
joined Aug 2013

#212 · May 23, 2016

VdB is coming out on top.

Mark Harris66 Active Member

158 messages
joined Oct 2016

#213 · May 23, 2016

Carol Newman2 said:VdB is coming out on top.

Did the mail-in ballots decide everything?
"Nah, no doubt about it at all."

Nathan Morris3 Regular

261 messages
joined Mar 2018

#214 · May 23, 2016

Carol Newman2 said:VdB is coming out on top.

Yeah, so the media outlets leaning toward Hofer are already calling it, saying the FPOEa might try to challenge the results... I guess nothing's really certain yet. Hopefully, we don't see any messy drama from the other side.

http://www.foxnews.com/

Carol Newman2 Regular

413 messages
joined Aug 2013

#215 · May 23, 2016

VdB just overtook Hofer in the rankings.

A little side note:
The youth wing of the Greens over in Austria took to Twitter yesterday to vent their frustrations, actually calling their own country Nazi.

Carol Newman2 Regular

413 messages
joined Aug 2013

#216 · May 23, 2016

I’m calling it now: I expect we'll see FPOEa's popularity jump to 40% in the next poll.

hiddengardener12 Member

32 messages
joined Jul 2018

#217 · May 23, 2016

If we’re talking about a margin of a few hundred or maybe even a couple thousand votes, then yeah, it makes sense for the losing side to call for a recount. But if there's a gap of 10,000 or more? That’s just an unnecessary circus.

All those insinuations about mail-in ballots being rigged are honestly pretty ridiculous. I mean, the United States of America isn't some lawless place when it comes to political tradition. It's not like the North America.

Nathan Morris3 Regular

261 messages
joined Mar 2018

#218 · May 23, 2016

Carol Newman2 said:VdB just overtook Hofer in the rankings.

A little side note:
The youth wing of the Greens over in Austria took to Twitter yesterday to vent their frustrations, actually calling their own country Nazi.

That’s just not true. I guess it helps to filter things a bit and double-check what's actually happening.
Besides, all this childish bickering between the left and the right probably shouldn't be our main focus. Most Americans don't really care what some Twitter users in Germany have to say, so it won't affect elections or anything. It's hardly news.

hiddengardener12 Member

32 messages
joined Jul 2018

#219 · May 23, 2016

Honestly, I think people are making way more drama than necessary about what happens if Hofer wins the presidency. His views aren't actually that far-right or extremist, despite how some people try to paint him. Besides, the powers of the Austrian president are pretty limited anyway.

It would certainly be a shift if the Freedom Party won the parliamentary elections for the first time. But even then, they’d have to go out and find a coalition partner. Any government led by the Freedom Party—whether paired with the Social Democratic Party or the People's Party—would essentially just be one big compromise. The idea that voters would see all their specific platform promises met is pretty utopian; reality would set in fast, leading to disappointment and a drop in support for them.

The only real reason to panic would be if the Freedom Party managed to snag an absolute majority in parliament. Hopefully, we won't see that happening.

Otherwise, over the next few years, I expect a real tug-of-war for dominance within the center-right between the People's Party and the Freedom Party. Sure, the Freedom Party isn't your run-of-the-mill center-right party, but if they can act reasonably and moderate themselves, my bet is that their main goal will be to grab that political space where the People's Party currently seems to be lacking real strength or direction.

Carol Newman2 Regular

413 messages
joined Aug 2013

#220 · May 23, 2016

Nathan Morris3 said:That’s just not true. I guess it helps to filter things a bit and double-check what's actually happening.
Besides, all this childish bickering between the left and the right probably shouldn't be our main focus. Most Americans don't really care what some Twitter users in Germany have to say, so it won't affect elections or anything. It's hardly news.

I'll give you that one.

A - Austria

🔗 Similar threads