Colourful Europe?
Mirosław Piotrowski
In the country at the Sprewa a black-green-yellow coalition is announced, that is, similarly as the flag of Jamaica, and at the beautiful blue Danube – the turquoise-blue one. Particularly colours are the reflection of the political parties which intend to create a new government. In our western neighbouring countries these are CDU/CSU, Lliberals and the Green. The latter ones have at least a colour in their name, so there are only two ones to distinguish on the flag of Jamaica. Whereas in Austria the People’s Party of the Christian Democrats won, whose traditional colour is turquoise and as for creating a coalition it is carrying talks with the Liberative Party of Austria (FPO), appearing with a blue flag. The winner of the election in Austria and probably the future prime minister of this country, 31-year-old Sebastian Kurz, changed the previous black colour of his party into turquois and won. Spectacularly everything proves that both in Germany and Austria red colour will disappear from governmental castling, personalizing social-democrats. It is probable that they will be excluded from a political game which is not worrying me. Indeed they do not have a sickle or a Hammer on the red background any longer, but….. The current chairperson of the German SDP party, earlier as the chief of the European Parliament, wanted to introduce the European spirit by force, and the Austrian socialdemocracy is his European sister, after all. Indeed Adolf Hitler was officially a stateless person before he received German citizenship, but we know that he came from Austria. We would willingly say farewell to unpleasant historic memories, but as media are still emphasizing, the potential coalition of the ‘turquois’ in Austria, is the former party of Jorge Haider. Certainly, in the meantime it changed, got separated but still……Its current chairperson Heinz-Christian Strache is getting distanced from the ‘sins of youth’ (Jugendsunde) and assures that he has never been a neo-Nazi. However, it is not a worrying issue in the European Union. What is the most important are relations with the Union. Both negotiating parties are anti-immigrant but Kurz wants the government to be ‘pro-European’. Austrian libertarians in the EP in Brussels and Strasburg are in one political group with MEPs of the French National Front Marine Le Pen. And it is for the Euro-fanatics like a red rag for a bull. However, in Austria not necessarily. Such a coalition functioned 18 years ago. In Austria and Germany there are talks not only about a program but also about posts. And, sorry, about political posts. Strache from FPO wants to be the Foreign Minister of Austria (police, data, etc.), the co-chairman of the German Greens Cem Ozdemir (the former Euro-deputy) dreams of becoming the Foreign Minister, and the chief of the liberals Christian Lindner demands becoming the Finance Minister. In fact the chancellor Angela Merkel has already appointed the Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble the chairperson of Bundestag, which gave more hope. Hope for better changes, certainly. If they all are met, we will be able to listen to the old song of Ewa Bem ‘Live colourfully’.
(AA)
„Niedziela” 43/2017