"Alcatraz is perfect"

Local politician found hate message on letterbox

Schirl-Winkelmaier (small picture) founded the local Green Party ten years ago. He found a message of hate in his postbox.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/zVg)

Anonymous perpetrators left threatening messages for Green local councillor Sebastian Schirl-Winkelmaier right outside his house. He went public with the message: "Don't let me be intimidated."

"This is of course extremely unpleasant. Not only for me, but above all for my wife and three children," explains Sebastian Schirl-Winkelmaier. His eldest son (18) - at home alone at the time on Sunday morning - had found the two messages on the house in Gramatneusiedl, district of Bruck an der Leitha, which an unknown person had stuck to the post box with adhesive tape and to the billboard opposite the house with paste. On it, he wished the eco-politician no good. The notorious Alcatraz prison is the "right place" for the 46-year-old (see photos).

It is a different matter whether you are insulted anonymously on the Internet or whether you find such messages at home. After all, it's not a direct threat of violence.

Sebastian Schirl-Winkelmaier

"Encouraging others"
Schirl-Winkelmaier immediately called the police, who reported the incident to the public prosecutor's office. And he decided to make the incident public. "I want to show the anonymous person that this is not how it works. I won't be intimidated and I want to encourage other victims of such threats." The local politician is not afraid of triggering a backlash. "Then the person would have to step out of anonymity. I certainly don't shy away from the discussion and it would be interesting to see what the reasons are," says Schirl-Winkelmaier.

The message was also left on a billboard directly opposite his house.(Bild: zVg)

Background unclear
However, Schirl-Winkelmaier can only speculate about the background at the moment. "There was no incident that would have polarized people. But there is a political brutalization, not least due to the rise of other parties, in which the Greens in particular are increasingly being attacked. Party colleagues in the country also confirm this," says the 46-year-old. 

The Green also received support on social media, where he posted the incident. "This is absolutely unacceptable," reacted SPÖ mayor Thomas Schwab, for example. "Great respect for your determination in the face of hatred," wrote Peter Kraus, party leader of the Vienna Greens.