FPÖ as the party of the chancellor? The factions of capital and their attempt to create relative stability.

It has been around a week since Federal President Van der Bellen gave FPÖ chairman Herbert Kickl the task of forming a government. A wave of outcry went through the international (especially the German) and national monopoly media, otherwise this is only known from major corruption scandals or similar cases. The Federation of Austrian Industries and the Chamber of Commerce are not dissatisfied and are hoping for a stabilization of the “economic location”, while at the same time calling for austerity measures. Now the population is to be kept in line with various party skirmishes: Who was to blame for the collapse of the planned three-party coalition? Will “liberal democracy” now be abolished in Austria?... What position should the working class and progressive, democratic and revolutionary forces take?

Attempt at stabilization and the decomposition of Austrian imperialism.

Some forces in the non-parliamentary left movement are mainly wondering why the ruling class “doesn't want the SPÖ [Social Democratic Party Austria – Anm.] in government” and are sometimes going down some bumpy paths in the process. One of the theses is that the ruling class in Austria, the bourgeoisie, does not want to make any reforms or concessions. On the one hand, this is not incorrect, especially as the SPÖ, in order not to lose even more influence and position, would find it difficult to agree to certain deteriorations or savings (although the government negotiations have already shown how many of the election promises would have very quickly fallen by the wayside), such as raising the retirement age to 67, or the further, comprehensive dismantling of the “social partnership” and the associated loss of importance of the trade unions. The fundamental “mistake”, however, is that the SPÖ is not seen as a party of Austrian monopoly capital, but as a “workers' party on the wrong track”. The ruling class, the bourgeoisie, is not a uniform “bloc”, but here too there are gradually differing interests, which are expressed in the various factions and in parliament in the various parliamentary parties. For a long time in recent history, the SPÖ was the leading faction of the Austrian bourgeoisie, the key industries (nationalized industry, etc...) were most strongly occupied by the SPÖ. In the 50 years between 1970 and 2020 alone, the SPÖ provided the Federal Chancellor for 40 years. In recent decades, it was therefore mainly the SPÖ that determined the political course of Austrian capital and represented the leading faction of the capitalist class. Since the 1990s, however, a radical change has taken place and social democracy, which is strongly linked to big industry and especially its formerly nationalized part, is now in a deep crisis. This political crisis of social democracy, which coincides with an economic crisis particularly in the industrial sector, is therefore also an expression of the decomposition of Austrian imperialism. This means that Austrian capital (especially the traditional key industries) can no longer continue as before. This is also reflected in the “alarm messages” of recent weeks, such as those from the President of the Federation of Austrian Industries, Georg Knill: “We are no longer participating in global growth. We have priced ourselves out of the market.” (1) He continues: “Many of the people involved have not yet personally experienced a market economy (...) They have always been in protected markets or protected areas”. The dreams of a three-party coalition between the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS did not fail because the economy “ruled against the SPÖ”, but because of the enormous instability of this possible government for the needs of capital. On the one hand, there is the factor of a three-party coalition, which overall harbors more instability than a two-party coalition and, for example, did not manage a full legislative period in Germany. On the other hand, there is also the factor that it is mainly made up of the “loser parties” ÖVP and SPÖ, which are facing great discontent within the population, and would therefore have had far more problems in pushing through billions in cuts and deteriorations in a “big coalition” [Coalition from the “old” parties ÖVP and SPÖ – Anm.] style. Now political factions are emerging that at least have a tendency to try other options to get out of the political and economic crisis. It is, so to speak, an “emergency exit” for the ruling class, an attempt at stabilization within a more general, national and international crisis. The FPÖ is not a “new force” within the parliamentary parties. What is new, however, is that the ruling faction represented by the FPÖ is becoming the party of the chancellor and can dictate the conditions for coalition negotiations.

Crisis of social democracy and its “left-liberal” followers.

The Social Democrats, and with them the ÖGB [Austrian Unions’ League – Anm.] as one of their most important institutions, still seem paralyzed by the end of the coalition negotiations and the possibility of Herbert Kickl becoming the next chancellor. And with it, the bubble of “left-liberalism” also appears to be paralyzed. What they have in common is that they acted as the vanguard of a kind of “Kickl-prevention-campaign” [Herbert Kickl is the head of the Austrian Freedom Party, FPÖ – Anm.] and ultimately achieved one thing above all: to further strengthen the FPÖ. In recent years, so-called “left-liberalism” and its various organizations and “revolutionary” representatives have acted as defenders of a certain faction of the bourgeoisie in the state apparatus on numerous issues (e.g. by providing electoral support for Van der Bellen and Babler, or by defending anti-democratic Corona measures, etc.). In doing so, they isolated themselves from the anger and justified demands of the masses and left the political field of criticism of anti-democratic and war-mongering measures to the Freedom Party. Continuing this kind of “Kickl-prevent campaign” now, without aiming the main blow at the main political agendas of the EU and the rulers in Austria, the warmongering and the attacks on social and democratic rights, will drive this isolation even further. For all those who really want to struggle for social improvements and the interests of the working class and the people, this experience must be a lesson. Defending that faction of the bourgeoisie, represented by the SPÖ and the Greens (and to some extent also the ÖVP), against the FPÖ ultimately weakens the progressive forces of the people, isolates them and sacrifices the interests of the oppressed for dwarfed participation in the factional and directional struggle within the bourgeoisie.

Once it has woken up from its paralysis, the SPÖ will try to present itself in its opposition role as a “defender of social rights” and “vanguard of the workers” on one issue or another. It may succeed in this in individual cases, but overall it cannot be assumed that social democracy (also due to its own deep crisis and increasing loss of hegemony) will develop longer-lasting and broader political mass activities. But above all it will try to keep its own sheep in the dry and oppose the loss of importance of the social partnership. For the progressive forces of the people, this means that they must also oppose these attempts by social democracy to stage-manage the situation, because it is also social democracy, as a faction of the ruling class, that is responsible for this situation.

The FPÖ has recorded large gains in voters, primarily due to its oppositional stance to the EU's main political program and its pronounced democratic and social demagogy. The crisis of the parties in the “big coalition” should also not be forgotten, which further boosted the flow of voters. Now, if this government comes into being, the FPÖ, as the party with the chancellorship, will certainly be tested on its promises, which favors the instability of this possible government constellation. For example, the FPÖ has campaigned for lower energy prices, for improving the situation of small and medium-sized owners, as well as for social security (e.g. maintaining hospitals). However, even the bourgeois economic forecasts assume that energy prices will rise massively in 2025, insolvencies will continue to increase and unemployment will rise. With only “expenditure-based budget restructuring” and an austerity plan worth billions for the next seven years, it will not be possible to keep a large part of these promises, which will also lead to an intensification of the contradictions between the masses and a potential FPÖ-ÖVP government. Progressive forces must above all oppose reactionary attacks on social rights, especially cuts and further erosion of working class rights. At the same time, it is necessary to consistently defend all those demands that were also part of the FPÖ campaigns, such as withdrawal from Sky Shield, defense of neutrality, abolition of the imperialist sanctions policy, no further NATO rapprochement, etc. ... and, depending on their political (non-)implementation, to expose the FPÖ's mudslinging and demagoguery.

An attempt to generate relative political stability for reactionary measures: Resist and struggle!

In summary, it must be noted: The aim of those in power at the last National Council elections in September 2024 was to create relative political stability for the interests of capital. After the collapse of the negotiations for a three-party coalition, a potential FPÖ-ÖVP government is now supposed to achieve this goal of a more stable coalition in order to push through austerity measures and give Austrian capital new room for maneuver or win back old ones. In the first attempt to form a new government, a three-party coalition would have been formed for the first time in Austria's history; in the variant now realized, for the first time in Austria's history, not one of the old factions of the bourgeoisie (SPÖ, ÖVP) will be the chancellor's party. This shows a radical change in the composition and weighting of the bourgeois factions and this upheaval obviously heralds a change in the strategic composition of the bourgeois factions in Austria. It is legitimate to want to oppose an “FPÖ chancellorship”, but not as an appendage of the SPÖ, but in the struggle to mobilize and strengthen the forces of the people, in the struggle against the interests and rule of capital.