Constitutional protection active

Attack on popular politicians’ bar near city hall

Owner Heinz Pollischansky in front of his vandalized restaurant.(Bild: Eva Manhart)

On Wednesday night, the Vino wine bar in Vienna's city center was severely damaged. A piquant fact: shortly beforehand, a call from an anti-fascist group to protest at this very location was circulating online. The FPÖ is now calling for tough action against left-wing extremism. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) has now also called in the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

Walls, furnishings and furniture smeared with paint: on Wednesday morning, the employees of the Vino wine bar at Lichtenfelsgasse 3 opposite Vienna City Hall were presented with a disturbing sight. Unknown persons had vandalized the bar during the night.

Explosive: just hours before the attack, a call for action had been published on Instagram by the group "gfoa_w - Gruppe für organisierten Antifaschismus Wien". Under the slogan "Get Nazi bars out of hiding", the group called for a rally in front of the Vino - for this Thursday.

Owner Heinz Pollischansky in front of his vandalized restaurant.(Bild: Eva Manhart)

A political attack?
The protest was justified with an allegedly planned meeting of the far-right "Identitarians" and their "Action 451" project. The post reads: "Come to the anti-fascist rally in Lichtenfelsgasse on November 6! Let's make the meeting of the 'Identitarians' a disaster together!" Gastronomer Heinz Pollischansky, who the group accuses of his restaurants being "popular meeting places for neo-Nazis and the FPÖ", is also mentioned by name. In addition to the Vino, the restaurants Centimeter, the Prater Alm and the former Stiegl Ambulanz in the Altes AKH are also mentioned.

Annoying with bad reviews
The post also calls on people to "annoy" Pollischansky - for example with bad online reviews, email campaigns or by reserving tables. The post received over a thousand likes and dozens of comments within hours. It remains to be seen whether the night-time devastation was actually a political act. However, the timing raises questions. 

FPÖ calls for tougher action
After the paint attack on the "Vino" restaurant, FPÖ members of parliament Sebastian Schwaighofer and Leo Lugner called for decisive action against left-wing extremist violence. Schwaighofer: "The paint attack on the Viennese wine bar Vino is further proof of the increasing willingness of left-wing extremist circles in Austria to use violence." And Lugner says: "The Minister of the Interior and the authorities must ensure that such acts do not remain without consequences. Left-wing extremist violence is still being trivialized in this country, and that is precisely what leads to such escalations." Both politicians called for an "official offensive against the scene that gathers behind the label 'Antifa'" and emphasized that Vienna "must not allow itself to be intimidated by left-wing extremists".

The Vienna State Office for State Protection and Extremism has already launched a comprehensive investigation

Innenminister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP)

Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK

Interior Minister Karner calls in the Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) has also spoken out: "The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is taking consistent action against all forms of extremism - regardless of whether they are religiously or politically motivated. There is zero tolerance here. The Vienna State Office for State Protection and Extremism has already initiated comprehensive investigations," said the Minister of the Interior in response to an inquiry from the "Krone" newspaper.