The Common Way Out of the crisis: Views from Austria
On November 23rd, 2012 GEF with support of the Austrian Grüne Bildungswerkstatt (GBW) and Heinrich Böll-Stiftung Germany organised a debate entitled “The Future of Europe: The Common Way Out of the Crisis” in Salzburg. It was the Austrian contribution to GEF´s series on “The Future of Europe”. Andreas Novy and Susanne Puchberger from the Grüne Bildungswerkstatt summarise the event and consider its implications for the Green debate.
The Austrian political debate on Europe is highly polarised. The pro-EU field is composed of the Social Democratic-Conservative coalition government, the social partners (employers and unions), the banks and corporations, three parties (Social Democrats, Christian Democrats, Greens), the state-owned TV and radio station, the quality newspapers and the overwhelming majority of civil society. The EU-critical field is today identical to the Grexit - proponents: The right-wing populist parties (FPÖ, BZÖ and the new party of millionaire Frank Stronach), and segments of commercial mass media. In demographic terms, we will find a separation between high- income, highly-educated and younger supporters of further European integration and low-income, less educated and on average older Euro-sceptics. To sum up, in many ways the position via Europe in Austria can be described as an elite/masses divide.
The crisis has affected Austria, but in a smoother form than most of the other countries. First, Austrian industry depends strongly on Germany which only entered into recession recently. Second, austerity measures similar to Southern Europe (cuts in social spending, limited taxation of wealth, and fewer redistributive elements) have been implemented, but on a much smaller scale which has not caused any public unrest. However, there is a growing awareness that problems will increase in the future. All parties, however, support the EU one way or the other. While the right-wing populist European project can be described as a lean Europe, as a free trade area made up of sovereign nation states, the Greens enter the discussion with the “United States of Europe”. As in many other countries, the political debate is currently strongly dominated by ad-hoc management of the crisis. While few Austrians support a nationalist anti-EU project, rightwing populism has broad support in the general public with respect to a more nationalist defence of “Austrian self-interest” (with respect to the budget and Grexit, etc.). There is a deep-rooted prejudice of a European divide along the “hard working” core and the “lazy” periphery which makes a discussion on more systematic strategies of territorial cohesion and redistribution very difficult. Against this political background, the event was meant to discuss (Green) proposals for Europe for overcoming the sovereign debt and bank crises, keeping in mind the social dimension of the crisis. As Austria is still an AAA rated country, the economic and social crisis has been perceived differently from Southern and Central-Eastern Europe. Therefore, the conference was particularly focused on an exchange of different perspectives in two dimensions: To relate a positive European vision as elaborated by the Austrian Green Party to the reality of Europe as it currently exists. To promote a dialogue between voices from different parts of Europe, their perceptions of current challenges and the role of Europe.
Ulrike Lunacek and Alexander van der Bellen Towards the United States of Europe. The opening words as well as the final synthesis were made by two prominent Austrian Green politicians: Alexander van der Bellen (former party leader of the Austrian Greens) and Ulrike Lunacek (Member of the
The Common Way Out of the Crisis: Views from Austria
European Parliament) who have been involved over the last two years in stimulating an internal party discussion on the future of Europe. In her opening speech Ulrike Lunacek very clearly pointed out that EU is in an alarming state: The European Union is and has been a peace-project. The current crisis threatens this project and the EU is at risk of unravelling. It is the first time in the history of the EU that a crisis makes this scenario possible. One has to be aware of the fact that in ten years the EU and the Euro may no longer exist. The crisis is not only an economic crisis, it is a crisis of democracy. The EU lacks a number of democratic elements – for example a parliament with wide legislative and initiative rights as well as control functions. “Provincialism” – in the sense of a Europe governed by the strong nation states - endangers the European project. Ulrike Lunacek who is a key proponent of the Austrian Green party´s vision of a “United States of Europe“ is convinced that a positive vision is needed which could mobilise people to oppose nationalist, undemocratic and socially disintegrative dynamics. Alexander van der Bellen took up Ulrike Lunacek´s thoughts and once more stressed the fact that the “collapse of Europe is possible“. Europe is ruled by outworn/antiquated ideas of national sovereignties. He underlined his words with a saying of the “Weimarar Republik” which he paraphrased to describe Europe today: “We had democracy, but not enough Democrats” turned into “We had Europe, Europe, but not enough Europeans”. Europeans” The reality of Europe, however, is characterised by dysfunctionalities. To illustrate this he concluded with a “thought experiment” which showed some of the major impasses of the EU: Imagine Austria – a federal nation state - and its regions (“Bundesländer”) would be structured the same way as the EU is: the national parliament plus the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council. Decision-making would hardly be possible if Austrian regional governors could block federal policies. Mutual obstruction would be the common procedure.
“Voices of Europe”: In search of visions for a good life for all Europeans. To widen the horizons and to contribute to a wider dialogue on the future of Europe, we invited experts and speakers from Southern and Central-Eastern Europe to
2
present their views on the political and socio-economic situation: Mar Garcia Sanz from Spain (newly elected member of the European Green Party Committee, Iniciativa Catalunya Verds/Barcelona) and Zdenek Kudrna from the Czech Republic (lives in Vienna and works at the Austrian Academy of Sciences/Institute for European policy). Mar Garcia Sanz made a clear point in stating that the crisis of the real estate and banking sector was at the origin of the public deficit in Spain, not the other way around. However, too generous wages and social benefits have been identified by European policy makers and the mass media as the causes of the crisis. The resulting austerity measures which have saved the financial sector have led to the dismantling of the welfare state and democratic institutions. This happened because the conventional understanding has often been that “the South” is responsible for the crisis and, therefore, it is internal policies (especially austerity measures) that have to solve the crisis. Zdenek Kudrna focussed on the Central and Eastern European perspective. In his opinion GDP-Growth is the first thing to look at. Unemployment has increased everywhere over the last five years, although the situation has been different in the respective Member States. While people in the Czech republic, Slovakia and Poland (were the crisis was softer, and the national economies recovered as suppliers to German industry) have only started to be more cautious and careful about spending money, there is real material deprivation and a descent of the middle class in Hungary and the Baltic countries. The presentation was followed by a debate together with Robert Misik, Misik an Austrian journalist, and Bruno Rossmann, Rossmann a Green Member of the Austrian Parliament, moderated by Juliane Alton from the Grüne Bildungswerkstatt Vorarlberg. Both discussants stressed the fact that the economic and social problems challenge the Green vision of Europe. Europe For Rossmann, the EU cannot survive if the “Greek question” is not solved. If Greece leaves the Eurozone the costs are unpredictable. In line with Zdenek Kudrna, he stressed the importance of a banking union and the regulation of the financial markets. Robert Misik aimed at shifting the focus from financial issues to the social problems, identifying youth unemployment as a main threat to Europe´s progressive future. Zdenek Kudrna made a strong point in stressing that we need to invent new stories about the EU and not reduce it to an economic project. The danger is that in a deepening
The Common Way Out of the Crisis: Views from Austria
financial crisis, people will turn away from the EU: If the economy doesn´t work, the EU doesn´t work. People have to feel as Europeans. Therefore, feelings of solidarity, identity and common culture have to be strengthened. Mar Garcia Sanz proposed to put Europeans, the people of Europe, into first place for decision–making by implementing policies which generate wellbeing instead of depriving welfare. In the public debate, there was common ground with respect to the plea for overcoming the primacy of the economic debate. The respective understanding, however, exposed two different views on how to overcome the current impasse of European development. The first perspective stresses the need for a European vision, comparable to the peace project after World War II. More than one discussant exposed the discomfort with the excessive focus on technocratic discussions on fiscal and financial issues. They argued for a Green effort to elaborate a European vision based on cultural and social values. This requires an educational effort. In line with Van der Bellens´ adaptation of a historical quote, this recalled a statement after Italian unification in the 19th century: “We have Italy. What we need now is Italians” – which can easily be translated to current European development. The second perspective was best exposed by Mar Garcia Sanz, a fervent European, who described her personal perception of Europe.
3
is associated with less teachers at school, lower wages, dismantling of democracy and repressive police action. Therefore, wrong economic and authoritarian policies have to be abandoned by policies which put the ordinary European people, their desires and needs, first. The conference ended with more questions than answers. The dialogue between different perspectives started, but was not yet taken up systematically and needs to be continued. Rather positive views of past and current dynamics in Austria remained side-by-side to increasingly critical views from Spain and realistic perceptions from Eastern Europe. To sum up, the discussion exposed the key challenge for a Green European debate: To bridge the gap between a long-term integral vision which might become wishful thinking and a short-term economic debate which easily becomes technocratic. Therefore, further discussions should take Mar Garcia Sanz’s alert serious: Europe must not be perceived as a nightmare by an increasing section of its population. It has to, once again and as a decisive element of its own survival, become the dream of the everyday Europeans. It is the conviction of the authors of this summary that a United States of Europe has to offer a vision of a good life for all Europeans. This includes decent jobs and housing, culture and health as well as tolerance and cosmopolitism. How to achieve this will be the task of everyday Green Realpolitik.
The article was written by Andreas Novy and Susanne Puchberger from the Grüne Bildungswerkstatt. © Green European Foundation The views expressed in this article are those of the authors’ alone. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Green European Foundation. support of the European Parliament. Born inWith a dictatorship, Europe always represented the other: freedom, the world, travelling, progress and GreenInEuropean Foundation tolerance. the 1980s, she asbl and her friends 1, rue du embraced Fort Elisabeth enthusiastically Spanish integration into EU. 1463 Luxembourg Over the last years, however, this wonderful dream has Brussels Office: transformed itself increasingly into a nightmare. Europe 15 rue d’Arlon, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Phone: +32 2 234 65 70 - Fax: +32 2 234 65 79