They have everything! They have 1st class democracy, they enjoy all the fruits of developed European economy, they can travel all across Europe without being bored at the border crossings. So what is it they are prepared to demonstrate against?

According to police estimations yesterday round five thousand people gathered((1)) under these slogans:

NO TO EU-DICTATORSHIP! FREE AND NEUTRAL! TREASONERS OF YOUR HOMECOUNTRY - WE HAVE THE RIGHT ON A REFERENDUM!

and finally SAVING NEUTRALITY: NO TO AN EUROPEAN TREATY!

ADDITION: article in Der Standard (+video)…. with more than 1452 opinions at their forum!

Yes, there were also Haider’s people from nationalist right but as always majority of them were regular and concerned citizens of the Austrian republic who are historically still aware of the strange similarities of today’s politics with the unfortunate Anschluss some 70 years ago.

As our Gabriele Wladyka reports next Friday and Saturday new demonstrations will take place in Vienna. Austrian parliament plans to ratify the Renamed EU Constitution in the middle of April. Only FPÖ (Freedom Party, leader Heinz-Christian Strache) and BZÖ (former Freedom Party, leader Jörg Haider) announced they will vote against it. Greens, Socialists and People’s Party are in the line with the euro-speak.

Historia magistra vitae est!

((1)) here is an opinion from the Austrian Der Standard reader: “Wenn du dort warst, weißt du, dass es 15.000 bis 25.000 gewesen sein müssen. Der Stephansplatz war gesteckt voll. Zu Silvester sprechen sie gerne von 100.000 am Stephansplatz.”

Which roughly means that at the New Year’s celebration when the main square (Der Stephansplatz) of Vienna was full media were reporting of 100 thousand people. Which means that there had to be at least 15 to 25 thousand people gathered on Saturday since the same square was completely packed.