Austria turns into Covidistan

The Normalisation of Hate Speech

On 20 Nov. 2021, the editor-in-chief of the regional newspaper Oberösterreichische Nachrichten (Upper Austrian News), one Gerald Mandlbauer, had published an editorial that praised the government’s arbitrary Covid-19 course in the following way.

Entitled ‘An End of Waldorf’, Mandlbauer wrote (my emphases):

‘Lockdown and mandatory vaccinations: the state takes back its authority, and it was high time.

Society is helpless in the face of the irrational behaviour of part of the population. With its eyes wide open, an entire country has been pushed off course. What went wrong in this summer of carelessness? We have not understood the first axiom of pandemic control: Speed is everything.’

Criticism of the government and its policies is one thing, but this is quite something else:

‘Politicians have talked people down in the style of Waldorf pedagogues, that’s it. Thus, we have degenerated into a cacophony of the polyphonic and fearful, twelve-tone without a conductor, at least until yesterday. Citizens have a clear picture of this Arnold Schoenberg Choir and its crisis behaviour…the higher the education level, the more critical the assessment of the [government’s] crisis management. At the top of the list of reasons for failure, however, is that part of the population that has closed its mind to rational arguments.

If talking to, and arguing for, do not work, then the state has to use its authority. This realisation is finally dawning on those in power, albeit far too late. The lockdown is to be followed by compulsory vaccination for all—there is no other way to explain the new imposition of isolation to those who have been vaccinated as the part acting in solidarity, and it will probably not be possible to defeat the pandemic any other way. Such vaccine mandates are ethically and legally justified; the protection of the general public allows it. But let’s not fool ourselves, pressure will bring about counter-pressure, it will not be easy in view of the high temperature in the cauldron of democracy, the fears of many antivaxxers, and the irrationality of the arguments of the radical opponents of these measures. It will depend on the steadfastness of reason.’

While this all sounds suspiciously like a Committee on Public Safety of 1793-94 Paris vintage in-the-making, there’s more still, for Mandlbauer isn’t done with his fit of rage, and there’s enough for everyone:

‘The church as an authority remains silent, while natural cults [a snide concerning natural, or holitistic medicine] flood our inboxes

(…)

Anti-science sentiments, a very widespread plague in Austria parallel to digital immaturity, expresses itself in this shamanic prose. Everything that science has learned about Corona in the past two years is forgotten.’

And here’s Mandlbauer’s final assessment, which reveals his true sentiments:

‘How does one deal with this in one’s own circle of relatives and acquaintances? With tolerance? With ignorance? With backtalk? If we accept their pseudo-scientific bullshit with a shrug of our shoulders, Physics would have to be rewritten. If we tolerate them, it would mean that the other person might be a little bit correct after all.’

If you’re asking yourself: who is this editor-in-chief Mandlbauer, and how much does he know about virtually all of these issues? Well, I’m glad you asked:

Mandlbauer is a ‘a rower, originally from Puchenau. Born in 1959, [he] knows how to accelerate a boat properly. Since the former economics staff writer [at the Oberösterreichishe Nachrichten] has been setting the pace at the newspaper, the water has been foaming, and sometimes also the competition. Numerous innovations that have made the [Oberösterreichishe Nachrichten] even more attractive in recent years can be attributed to his ideas and assertiveness’, according to the newspaper’s website.

So, Mandlbauer studied marketing and accounting at the University of Linz, a different website explains. He worked at the Oberösterreichishe Nachrichten since 1994, and in 2003 Mandlbauer became editor-in-chief.

Now, back to Mandlbauer’s editorial. In the final two paragraphs, he further doubles down on his hardcore stance (and why no-one from the state prosecutorial service isn’t all over this guy for hate speech and incitement, I don’t know):

‘Corona is a drama in many acts, with people whose fears we must respect and objectively reduce. This minority must be convinced without losing face.

In addition, there are also those deplorables [I went for this word, as it’s quite established in English discourse, Mandlbauer choice was Bodensatz, literally, the remainder on the bottom of the barrel] who have built their antivax sentiments on larger narratives of resistance, and they cannot be convinced. They cause the heated atmosphere against the state, against the elites, against science. Reichsbürger [even Wikipedia agrees on the heterogenous nature of these groups of individuals who deny the legitimacy of post-1945 Germany], far-right extremists, and practitioners of radical esotericisms who all have developed an image of a common enemy. To them, compulsory vaccination is a catalyst for their efforts.

And then there are those who seek political advantage of this twisted way of thinking because they hope to benefit from it. They are the most calculating category. In Upper Austria, this way of acting has been legitimised by the inclusion of the FPÖ in the coalition. This constellation is not at all compatible with the struggle of the state for its authority in a national emergency.’

This, dear readers, is what passes for ‘measured’ and ‘compassionate’ discourse in these days.

Legend has it, the Nero fiddled while Rome burned.

Here, we can observe the adding of seemingly endless amounts of combustible fuel to the already burning building that once bore the name: ‘Republic of Austria’.

Perhaps, Covidistan is a more apt name.

EDIT: Just after I posted this one, I ‘learned’ that Gerald Mandlbauer will step down as editor-in-chief at the end of this year. According to Covidistan state broadcaster ORF, Mandlbauer

will remain a member of the editorial board after 18 years as editor-in-chief. The 62-year-old had been planning this change for some time and now wants to concentrate more on writing and editorialising. “Gerald Mandlbauer has assured me that he will remain [part of the team] and stay with the readers of the Oberösterreichishe Nachrichten as a “commentator-in-chief” for many years to come”, said the editor, who thanked Mandlbauer for his successful work as editor-in-chief.’

Now we know that, too, and I’m confident that future editorials will be as delightful as the one above. (/sarcasm)