Demo for democracy

The silent center has become loud

Around 2000 participants demonstrated for the protection of democracy in Dornbirn city center on Sunday evening. A strong sign from civil society!

Around 40 organizations, initiatives and associations from all areas of society were invited to the rally in Dornbirn under the motto "Never again is now!". "We want to send a strong signal for democracy, human rights and humanity," said co-organizer Peter Mennel from the "Platform for Human Rights" in the run-up to the event, hoping for a lively turnout. Despite the foul weather, this wish was fulfilled: around 2,000 people gathered on Dornbirn's market square - an astonishing number given the fact that the culture of demonstrations in Vorarlberg is not particularly well-developed.

The organizers had repeatedly emphasized that the rally was not aimed at specific parties or individuals, but against "attitudes and dynamics that poison coexistence, endanger democracy and seek to divide society". And of course it was clear to everyone which attitudes were specifically meant - and they were also clearly named by the speakers, including the historian Werner Dreier and Hanno Loewy.

One of the main reasons for the demonstration was the concern that right-wing ideas could increasingly infect the center of society. In Dornbirn, "the center" showed that it does indeed have defenses.