Austria’s Communist Party: Fighting Fascism At The Local Level

The days of Red Vienna are long gone. Once a shining example of the European welfare state, Austria is now in danger of a far-right takeover. While the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) has historically dominated local politics, their electoral support has recently plateaued. The party’s grand coalition with the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) dissolved following a snap election in 2016. In its place, the ultra-nationalist Freedom Party (FPÖ) has exploded in relevancy, briefly joining an ÖVP-led government in 2017. The cities of Graz and Salzburg are notable exceptions to this reactionary wave. At a time of declining standards of living, many voters here are embracing Austria’s socialist past over the encroaching FPÖ. Utilizing personable leadership and popular economic reform, the relatively fringe Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) is achieving victory in some of the country’s most vital and historic urban centers. 

Slow change and mounting resentment have defined Austrian politics for the last 20 years. Prior to the 1990s, the SPÖ, formerly called the Socialist Party of Austria, pushed for broad wealth redistribution and ambitious public projects. In pre-World War II Vienna, the party launched a radical social housing program that provided affordable high-quality apartments to the city’s poor, along with schools, hospitals, post offices, and theater spaces. Bruno Kreisky implemented a similar leftist agenda during his chancellorship in the 1970s that included “the statutory introduction of the 40-hour week, four weeks’ annual holiday, improved social insurance and the legalization of abortion.” Nevertheless, the modern SPÖ has abandoned their Austro-Marxist origins in pursuit of a neoliberal consensus with ÖVP. From 2008-2017, the ÖVP and SPÖ governed Austria under a grand coalition. While the centrist two-party administration faced problems ranging from Euroskepticim to rising unemployment, it actively avoided structural reforms. Instead, the coalition government passed an austerity package that devastated poor working families. According to Austrian political economists Christoph Hermann and Jörg Flecker, “the cuts follow a traditional pattern, mainly affecting those who are most vulnerable and aggravating rather than alleviating social problems.” The loss of state investment only worsened internal tensions, thereby setting the stage for a far-right resurgence.

Founded in 1956 by former Nazi SS officers, the FPÖ is projected to become the largest political party in Austria after the next election. The alarming success of the extreme right acts as a direct consequence of Austria’s crumbling institutions. For nearly a decade, the SPÖ-ÖVP partnership failed to address public grievances, fragmenting the left and swelling the ranks of the far right. Umeå University professor Torbjörn Bergman argues that “the coalition was characterized by infighting, minimal compromises, and mediocre economic performance.” Harnessing anti-government sentiment, the FPÖ positioned itself against high taxes and Muslim migration, while promising a rise to pensions and wages for the Volk – an imagined ethnically cleansed Aryan people. The party’s fraternity of Neo-Nazi supporters embody this ethno-nationalist mythos fully. Politico’s Liam Hoare reported that during a New Year’s rally “Party leader Herbert Kickl was triumphantly hailed Austria’s ‘future Volkskanzler,’ its people’s chancellor…first applied to Adolf Hitler in 1933.” Despite the brazen displays of bigotry, the FPÖ has mobilized the disillusioned masses more than any other party in Austria. Vienna-based politician and author Walter Bair observed that “70 percent of FPÖ voters were not happy with their quality of life in the city. Here, we see a de facto monopoly by a right-wing radical party in representing the discontented.” The FPÖ reached its greatest heights in 2017 when it ousted the Social Democrats from ÖVP’s ruling coalition and won over a quarter of the Austrian electorate. Even after the resignation of all FPÖ ministers during the 2019 Ibiza corruption scandal, the party continues to lead opinion polls by a solid margin. An unexpected challenger to the far-right’s dominance has been the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ).

Amidst the paralysis of SPÖ and ÖVP, Austria’s Communists offer an engaged progressive alternative to the nativist populism of the FPÖ. Graz, the second largest city in Austria, elected KPÖ’s Elle Kahr to be mayor in 2021. Despite being the first communist to ever govern a major Austrian city, Kahr has built a strong grassroots presence in her community. After winning the 2023 World Mayor Award, she wrote: “Personal contact with people, with the citizens of Graz, has always been the most important aspect for me as a local politician…It is important to talk to people face-to-face to learn about their problems and concerns.” KPÖ’s transparent public approach has seen success in Salzburg as well, where four communists were elected to the state council last year. Inspired by Red Vienna and the current cost-of-living crisis, these new leaders have made affordable housing a distinct priority. Kay-Michael Dankl, a communist candidate who was less than nine hundred votes away from winning the Salzburg mayoral election in March, has proposed building a thousand subsidized housing units every year for ten years in the city. While SPÖ critics have called this plan “unrealistic”, similar radical measures will be needed to prevent Austria’s descent into fascism.  

Austria’s political mainstream is wholly unequipped to tackle the existential threats of polarization. The stagnation of the ÖVP and SPÖ leaves struggling people little choice but to vote for alternative parties. For years, the FPÖ has employed Nazi dog whistles and populist rhetoric in order to attract desperate and agitated followers. On the other hand, the KPÖ has envisioned a unique type of governing centered on compassion and service: “All party officials cap their own salaries at a net maximum of € 2,300 and donate the rest…Their headquarters, where they offer uncomplicated assistance in difficult times, is located in the city’s most deprived district.” While the Communist Party is far from being a national powerhouse, its platform has undeniably struck a chord with Austria’s city-dwellers. Defeating the far-right will require a renewed communal bond and improved living conditions for all.