Police in Vienna have come under fire for banning a right-wing demonstration against the likely centrist government coalition.
The gathering was planned to take place on November 30 in the Austrian capital’s centre under the slogan, “Peace and Neutrality! Against the candy collation!”, with a large turnout expected.
“Candy coalition” refers to the the three-party coalition between Conservatives, Socialists and Liberals currently being negotiated – which would keep the election winner, the hard-wing Freedom Party, out of power if successful.
On November 28, the Vienna Police Directorate said in a statement it had forbidden the demonstration under the Austrian Assembly Act.
“The right to freedom of commerce of businesses in Vienna’s shopping streets and the interest of the general public in an unimpeded flow of traffic outweigh the right of the organisers to hold the assembly,” the statement read. The police cautioned that in case of a violation of the ban, law enforcement could disperse any such gathering.
Critics have accused the police of bias and political kowtowing. Hannes Brejcha, one of the organisers of the demonstration, said law enforcement had based its decision primarily on a request by the Vienna Chamber of Commerce (WKW), which argued that the assembly would negatively affect commerce during the Christmas shopping period.
WKW is dominated by the Conservative ÖVP (Austrian People’s Party) but its president Walter Ruck also has close ties to the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), which has ruled Vienna for decades. Moreover, the interior ministry to which the police reports is headed by the ÖVP minister Gerald Karner.
Criticism has focused on the fact that another demonstration – also set to take place on November 30 in the city centre and a mere 400 metres from the planned anti-government protest – was given a green light by the police without issue.
This assembly was organised by a left-wing group called “Offensive against the Right” with the intent of keeping the Freedom Party out of power.
Confronted with the apparent contradiction, a police spokesperson wrote on X on November 28: “In this case [the Offensive against the Right protest], it was determined that the scope and local conditions would not unreasonably impair the freedom of acquisition.”
Despite their strict and commerce-friendly stance with regard to right-wing demonstrations, the Vienna police have been lenient towards other expressions of political opinion in the past.
On October 7, 2023, a large group protesters entered the centre of the city, waving Palestinian flags. According to one report, they danced on a memorial for Holocaust victims. The police called that protest “emotional, but peaceful” and refrained from breaking it up.
In December 2022, when an X user complained about a demonstration on a Saturday before Christmas causing traffic disruptions, the Vienna police answered: “The freedom of assembly is a great good that you cannot restrict just because it is a shopping Saturday.”
