Bregenz Festival

Van der Bellen: “I’m not going along with that”

In Bregenz, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen warned against becoming too complacent.(Bild: APA/DIETMAR STIPLOVSEK)

While next door on the lake stage an oversized mirror shatters spectacularly, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen calls on Austrians at the Bregenz Festival Hall not to get too comfortable—and to defend our country.

Van der Bellen is not a loudmouth, not a rabble-rouser, and only rarely a man of clear words (“That’s not who we are!”)—and yet, experience shows that his opening speeches in Bregenz and Salzburg set the tone for the country’s leaders. For example, he indirectly admonished then-Chancellor Karl Nehammer when the latter spoke about what was “normal” in Austria—and what was not. And Herbert Kickl, too—though never mentioned by name—learns between the lines why the Federal President does not consider him fit to be chancellor. This was also the case this year in Bregenz. 

Starting off in a statesmanlike, conciliatory tone
To mark the festival’s 80th anniversary, Van der Bellen first drew a connection between the spectacular art on Lake Constance and the current political landscape. He said the festival’s success story is an example of what becomes possible when people “do not settle for what is easily achievable.” Austria has repeatedly found the strength to reinvent itself in the wake of disasters, said the Federal President. However, he cautioned against taking the great achievements of the Second Republic for granted. Democracy does not exist only on election day.

Above all, however, he cautioned against simple answers to complex problems. In the age of social media, he noted, it is easy to “stoke anger, destroy trust, and pit people against one another.” It is more difficult, he added, to find solutions and build trust. And it is even more difficult to bring people together.

Core Values for Austria
Freedom, equality, fraternity, human dignity, the rule of law, humanity, and responsibility are “not old-fashioned terms from a history book,” but rather the country’s cornerstones. These values must be upheld not only by politicians and institutions, but by every single person—by teachers, police officers, businesspeople, journalists, mayors, and parents.

The most striking statement came when Van der Bellen addressed those who deliberately emphasize what divides us. Political culture begins, he said, “when others are treated with contempt or attempts are made to bring out the worst in people,” and someone stands up and says, “I’m not going along with that.” “Let’s practice respect. Respect is contagious. We don’t need a vaccine against it,” said the Federal President. Van der Bellen compared Austrian society to an orchestra. Working together also requires a sense of timing. One must know when to speak louder and when to speak softer so that others can be heard.

“An Austria that doesn’t belittle itself”
All of this, he said, is what defines a free, liberal democracy. It requires patience, respect, compromise, and courage. We must defend it. “It sometimes costs us something. In return, it gives us the freedom to shape our own lives. And also the assurance that power is bound by the rule of law.”

As Kickl often does, Van der Bellen concluded his speech by emphasizing “pride in Austria”—an Austria that “knows its history without getting stuck in it. That doesn’t belittle itself. That doesn’t belittle anyone. An Austria that says, ‘We don’t all have to be the same to belong together.’”