Enormous queues

Hundreds flocked to the Beer Party “get to know each other” event

(Bild: APA/ROBERT JAEGER)

Dominik Wlazny, head of the Beer Party, invited "new and old members" to a first get-together at the Wiener Schmelz on Friday evening. "Several hundred" had been expected in advance, and the Schutzhaus was indeed well filled. Long queues showed that many see the former satirical project as a genuine political alternative ...

The purpose of the evening was for members to network with each other and to find out "who can join in and how", said Wlazny in his speech. We need people who "take to the streets with declarations of support" or organize events, as well as "experts" who can contribute their know-how and ordinary party members.

"We are a reform movement"
If the party is successful in the National Council elections - "there is still a big if" - it wants to be represented in all 39 regional constituencies. "Because we are a reform movement," the party leader shouted to the neo-party members, some of whom had traveled from the federal states, earning loud applause from men in rocker frocks embroidered with the "Turbobier" band logo as well as those in slim-fit suits. All age groups were also represented.

Postings show the long queues outside the Schmelz shelter:

To turn the desire to actually be on the ballot paper in the next National Council election into reality, the party needs money. Wlazny announced around two weeks ago that the aim was to achieve 20,000 memberships - one costs 59 euros - by the deadline. Today, the party has over 6,000 and has already reached a third of its funding target. He is confident that they will also be able to secure the remaining two thirds.

With "regulars' tables" into high politics
There is currently a lack of funding for many things - money is needed for structure, organization, legal advice, IT and accounting, Wlazny explained to the members. And: "We are a good team, but we are not here for nothing." The party currently receives around 150,000 euros a year in party funding, but by law this can only be used for expenses in the city of Vienna, where the beer party has eleven district councillors.

Once again, Wlazny painted the picture of his party as "FC Simmering", which wants to enter the national league. "And as you know, the national league plays in all federal states" (Lower Austria and Burgenland do not currently have a team in the Austrian national league, note). Applied to politics, this means that we want "beer party regulars' tables" starting from the state capitals in all federal states. From the stage, he called on the audience to consider whether such events could be organized.

Content was not an issue in the speech. Asked by journalists before the event, Wlazny once again emphasized "equal opportunities", without going into further detail, and the goal of "getting people through their everyday lives better". The aim is also to appeal to those who "may have already turned their backs on politics". The current team has been "hacking away for weeks", including agreeing on how to position themselves on various issues.

Media representatives were asked to leave
When asked about his father's role - according to media reports, power within the beer party is strongly concentrated on the board, where Wlazny's father and son currently sit alongside a treasurer and a secretary - the younger of the two said that "we are all the driving force" and "how else can you get a movement off the ground if not with people you trust".

The evening would go "to the bitter end", Wlazny announced. However, it ended early for media representatives, who were asked to leave the building immediately after his speech. There will be a "follow-up" to today's event on February 19, but Wlazny did not provide any details for the time being.