If you used to look at Austria as the country of skiing, Mozart and the white horses, the Lipizzaner, then your picture was totally shaken in the last weeks. Practically over night Austria became the top issue in the international press. Pictures of shouting youth, riot police, of Haider, portrait as the new Hitler, and of ongoing mass-demonstrations where on front pages all over the world and the slogan "Widerstand" (resistance) was heard at radio and television. The apparently peaceful Austria is since the 1st of February shaken by protests, a period came t its end, a new opened up.

Since the first day of its existence the blue-black government, a coalition between the traditional bourgeois’s Peoples Party (ÖVP) and the extreme right populist Freedom Party (FPÖ), is under severe protests. Even before it was sworn in there where demonstrations and a occupation of the ÖVP-headquarter. The day of inauguration became the day, when tens of thousands of people forced the government to go to the president through an underground tunnel. The first time after 1945 a new government could no walk openly to be sworn in. This has to be seen as a symbol – it is a week government with an underground chancellor Haider. The place in front of the presidents palace was crowded with people shouting slogans, carrying banners, stickers and badges and throwing eggs, tomato’s and other things at the police. But these people where not only angry youth but a whole layer of older people also. It was the first of a number of demonstrations that went on for hours. The picket started at 10.00 in the morning, but the demonstrations, that marched through different parts of the centre of Vienna and that had occupied the ministry for social affairs to show its protest against the taking over of this ministry through a FPÖ-minister, went on until after midnight. And since then the protests did not stop. For nearly three weeks every day was at least one demonstration in Vienna, in all major cities of the country people went on to the streets to protest. On the 18^th of February over 15.000 school-students followed the call of the SchoolstudentsActionPlattform (SAP) for a one-day school-student strike. On the 19^th up to 300.000 people came to the mass demonstration in Vienna. Although it was pouring with rain, people not only from Vienna, but also other parts of Austria and international visitors like the Irish MP of the Socialist Party Joe Higgins took to the streets. Since then the protest continue on a weekly basis – on the first with over 15.000 and on the one against the opera-ball (the social event of the rich in Austria) over 20.000. On the 15^th of march the Students of the main university of Vienna decided to occupy the Auditorium maximum, the biggest lecture hall and to call for a week of strike after the 22nd of march. After six weeks of protest, it still continues. But it becomes also clear to a growing layer, that demonstrations alone will not bring the government down. A new step has to be taken in the movenment, it has to reach a higher stage. If this will not happen, there is the danger of a fading away.

The so called "2. Republic" was characterised by stable political systems that has its roots in the "social partnership". A system, although known and used also in other countries, was made perfect and fixed in organisational structures involving the leadership of the Social Democracy and the Trade Unions. The result of this policy was an extremely low level of class struggle with strikes being measured in seconds per worker per year and a working class without any experience in fighting back. As long as the economical development allowed to make concessions to the class and as long as it was necessary to integrate the Social Democracy in the political system because of its hegemony over the working class the system stayed stable.

But with the process of bourgoicification of the SPÖ and with the increasing need to make harder attacks on the working class the bourgeoisie changed it strategy. From integration and stability to harder attacks and the danger of instability. The process of so called "globalisation", the increasing competition on the world marked lead to more and more pressure on Austrian capital. The drew back there support from a SPÖ-ÖVP coalition and switched to the government with the populist Freedom party as an instrument to keep up their rate of profit.

In relation to the governments program the plan worked out well: It is the end of the welfare state with reductions in pensions up to 20 % and selfpayment in the health-service up to 20%. It leads to an elite education system with the implementation of tuition fees and more influence of big business on university. It will "solve" the problem of unemployment through forcing women to stay at home with their children and through a privatisation and their profit-orientation of the unemployment services. And last but no least, the government plans vicious attacks on the trade unions with the first step to the end of collective bargaining. Negotiations on questions of working hours shall not any longer be on a branch, but on a company level. The coalition-pact is like a Christmas present for the bosses-organisations.

But in relation to stability they underestimated the potential for protests. They hoped that the 50 years of inactivity of the working class in Austria, where even ’68 is just characterised as "a hot quarter of an hour", would continue. They expected, that the lack of any tradition of fighting back would make it easy for the government to go through with their plans. But they did not see the processes that where going on already for some time under the surface where an enormous anger against the social cuts of he last years and about the open and ungoing betrayal of the Social Democracy that was in power from 1970 until 1999 developed. They underestimated the potential for anti-racist protests that had ebbed down after the beginnings of the 90ies. And they did not take into account the changed mood in relation to "radical", to left and even socialist ideas. They hoped, that the process of polarisation, that took place in Europe since some years, would pass by Austria.

But with the 3^rd of October 1999, the day when the 2. Republic ended, all this broke down, the mood, that existed only under the surface until then came out openly. Since then tens and hundreds of thousands of people have not only started to get interested into politics, but started to become active.

The present Austrian government is the weakest since 1945. For one month the only really press they got was in connection with the protests. The main job of the representatives of the Peoples Party is to legitimate the Freedom Party and Haider. Until now detailed proposals for the governments plans have been put forward. The government is not only under close watch and pressure from as well home country as foreign countries, but also is it divided inside, since it wants to serve differing clients.

The Peoples Party as the traditionally and still main party of Austrian capital desperately wants to implement the program of further privatisation and neoliberal policy. They are afraid of the international protests in case they do any economical harm. After decades of a drop in voters this was the last chance for them to get the chancellor – they took the chance, but it could be their last service for the Austrian bourgeois. After new elections their electoral support can drop dramatically and then there could even be splits in the party.

The Freedom Party, as being an extreme populist party, is under strong pressure from there social base (bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie) on the one side and from there electoral base (working class) on the other. The discrepancy of carrying out neoliberal policy while at the same time trying to keep up the image of "party of the ordinary people" is evident and an unsolvable task. But as long as there is no alternative on the left, the FPÖ can continue to present itselves as opposition, of anti-establishment. The polarisation that takes place is on both sides – left and right – and therefore there is the danger of still growing support for the far right.

Especially the peoples party is prepared to go very fare to keep the government alive as they know, the end of the government can be the end of the ÖVP. So again and again they excuse Haiders attacks on foreigners, on other politicians and on the EU. What keeps the government together until now is its weakness and the lack of alternatives. Alltrough they try to present a united appearance, inner tensions become more and more obvious when FP-ministers argue, that parts of the coalition package have to be looked ver again.

Since 1986, when he took over the chairman’s-position, Haider is the driving force in the Freedom Party. He brought the element of extreme populism in the Party and formed it into an modern extreme-right party. But as the international protests are not against the policy of the government, not against its program of social cuts and racism, but only in a hypocritical way against the person of Haider, he became a burden for the government. And because of the inhomogenity of the Freedom party itself, the government participation became a burden for it. Haiders resignation as a chairman is an attempt to reduce pressure. An attempt of the government to reduce the pressure that lies on it and to steal itself out of the responsibility for Haider and his verbal abuses. And it is an attempt of the party to play on two sides at the same time. His resignation is a tactical manoeuvre to enable him to keep on playing opposition. Meaning, he continue being the "heckler from Carinthia" and he is not forced to give up his populist positions. For everybody it is absolutely obvious, that he used formally resigned but will stay THE major figure of the Party. In coming election Haider will, in all probability, again be the top candidate – rising as a phoenix from the ashes he will be back. The new chairwomen Susanne Riess-Passer made quite clear, that she keeps daily contact to him and that the aim is that Haider becomes chancellor. Her role is to do the dirty and unpopular government work and to keep Haider clean of those elements.

The resignation represents a party internal division of labour, necessary because of this discrepancy – the FPÖ in government carries out neoliberal policy that will also be on the backs of the FPÖ-voters, and Haider, faking opposition, who will act as if he would be a "tribune", fighting for the "hard working ordinary people". Also, his resignation represents an attempt to "play it save". If the government is forced to resign or is facing massive protests, Haider can still say he was not responsible.

At this moment in time contradictory pressures are on the government. On the one side the need for them to succeed, for the ÖVP to "stay alive", for the FPÖ to show, that they "can do it". On the other side there are the internal tensions between but even inside the parties and the massive protests. How this will develop and how long the government will stay in power is depending on a number of different factors, where the way, the resistance develops is of central interest.

The government is a dangerous government, because of its neoliberal policy and its racism, but it is not the fact, that Austrian is directly on its way to fascism, as some say. The Freedom Party is a extreme-right party with traditional links to fascists, but its main element at this moment in time is populism. This is also shown in their role in government, where they switch from one position to another. For a fascist system is now not only no need from the point of view of the capital but there is no base for it in Austrian society. To fight your enemy successful, you have to know who he is to choose the right weapons. The dangerous elements of this government is its economical program, its neoliberal policy and ist racism, those are the things to fight against. Spreading panic with simplifications like "Haider=Hitler" would lead the resistance in the wrong direction and therefore weaken it. This is the same moralic way of arguing, as it is done by different peti-bourgoise groups. Ist result is in practice to apeal to the more moderate wing of the bourgoisie instead of organising the working class to fight back.

The polarisation and politification, that took place in the last weeks is enormous. People who where never political active in their live are on the streets with self made plackets. People wave, hanging red banners out of the window, when the demonstrations pass by. In the schools, workplaces, in the trams, busses and pubs the government is the topic No. 1. Since decades, no political question was debated so long and so intensive. But on the other hand, there is a lack of alternative. Only after six weeks of protest the call for new elections is brought forward – but not by the movement iteselves but by the "Democratic Offensiv", a (peti-)bourgeois platform against the government that is always attempting to be not to radical. Alltrhough in the demonstrations representatives of the SPÖ and of the Greens are participating, they do not at all play a major role. Until now they could not take over and control the movement. For big layers in the demos the responsibility of the SPÖ for the rise of Haider is absolutely clear. It was their policy of cuts and their racist anti-immigration and anti-asylum-seekers policy that sank roots for the racist mood, that the FPÖ can build on.

At this moment in time the main problem is the lack of any alternative. But there is also a fundamental change in Austrian politics, in the consciousness of what is possible. One of the main elements of Austrian politics was a policy of representation, that kept people out of political activity. This ended with this movement, and there is no going back to this status. And this changes also the possibilities of the new government to come through with its program. The resistance movement makes it more difficult, to implement the cuts that are planned. There is a changed mood, a bigger understanding and mood for the necessity of getting active yourselves. But there is still a lack in organisation. The SPÖ, although they changed the chairman to present themselves in a more left way, is not seen as an alternative. The Greens present themselves as the "real patriots" and put no left demands, no organisational alternative forward.

In the unions there is pressure from below on the one hand and the dominating bureaucracy on the other. It is a fundamental change, that the rank-and-file anger was that big, that the TU-representatives could not sign the planned coalition package between the Peoples Party and the SPÖ so that the coalition did not come to work. The mood is still so strong against more cuts and against the government, that the ÖGB, the Austrian TU-federation, had to call for the big demonstration against the government and that prominent TU-representatives have been talking about strike-activity publicly. But until know they argue, that they wait for the governments plans to be put to parliament and then they will get active against it. As long as there is no organised opposition in the TU, this mood will not lead to concrete fighting results. Until now it does not look like, as if the TU will organise strikes – but strikes would be the only measure that can bring the government down. If the TU does not get involved in the resistance mouvenment, if it will not take the necessary measures, this will have very negativ effects. The TU itselve will be weakend and the right and far right will be strengthened.

In 1978 and 1984, when two big mouvenements, one against an atomic power station and one against an water power station shook Austria, the concrete output was not only, that the movements were successful, but was also the founding of the Green Party. The movement formed its own structures and a political party as a result. Signs for a similar development are still missing today. The resistance movement is not only against the racist part of the government, but also against the social cuts, big parts of it are quite clear about the responsibility of the SPÖ and the role of the Greens. The question of a new party for working people, for unemployed people, immigrants, youth and pensioners is on the agenda, although it is still not a demand of the movement and until now no concrete steps have been taken in this direction. The SLP, the Austrian section of the CWI not only argues against the government and is active in the movement, but also tries to build an alternative. An alternative to this government means the building of a new workers party, a party active in the struggle but also an alternative in the electoral field. But it is also necessary to see the politics, that every other government after this would make, as long as it bases itself on the logic of capitalism. As long as profit is the main task, social cuts will be implemented and racism will be used as a tool to split the working class and to prevent resistance. An alternative therefore has also to be another society without exploitation and repression, a socialist society.