Beer Party founder vies to be Austria's next president

Beer Party founder vies to be Austria's next president

Punk rock singer Dominik Wlazny is running for president in Austria's October vote
Punk rock singer Dominik Wlazny is running for president in Austria's October vote. Photo: JOE KLAMAR / AFP/File
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

With his long dark hair and torn jeans, punk rock singer Dominik Wlazny of Austria's Beer Party seems an unlikely candidate for the country's next president.

But that's exactly what the 35-year-old aims to be, as he seeks to shake up a presidential race dominated by politicians mostly backed by more established parties -- several rocked by corruption scandals.

Running against six others, including incumbent Alexander Van der Bellen, Wlazny is the first-ever presidential candidate from the Beer Party, named for its advocacy of the popular beverage.

Wlazny describes his campaign for the October 9 vote as a "David vs Goliath fight", with Van der Bellen widely tipped to clinch a second mandate.

But he's hoping to win some voters over with his party's unconventional approach to politics.

Read also

Low-key start for Nigeria's 2023 election campaign

The party's goals include having a fountain in the capital that dispenses beer, saying in a proposal to the city it could "raise the quality of life" for residents and draw tourists.

PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram - get the most important news directly in your favourite app!

Wlazny's bare-bones presidential campaign, dubbed "Let's talk about it", pushes for gender equality and animal welfare, among other issues.

His messaging is also unconventional, sending updates via online satirical clips, and Wlazny says his appeal is to anyone who "has a desire for change".

"Beer is a great thing. But actually it's about how you can get involved, and you don't have to be a beer drinker for that," Wlazny, better known by his stage name Marco Pogo, told AFP.

Hiring reform

The Beer Party, founded by Wlazny in 2015 as a "satirical project", now has some 1,000 members. Wlazny and 10 others serve as district counsellors in Vienna following 2020 city elections.

Read also

Brazilian stars add sparkle to election campaign

With some six million people eligible to cast their ballots, polls put Wlazny as likely to earn just around five percent in the presidential election with Van der Bellen getting some 60 percent.

The 78-year-old ecologist has to earn more than 50 percent of the vote, or else face his closest challenger in a run-off in November.

Wlazny describes his campaign for the October 9 vote as a 'David vs Goliath fight'
Wlazny describes his campaign for the October 9 vote as a 'David vs Goliath fight'. Photo: JOE KLAMAR / AFP/File
Source: AFP

In 2016, Van der Bellen had to fight it out in two rounds when a far-right politician raked in more votes than expected, but a series of graft allegations has since eroded the far-right's support and shaken the EU member's conservative-led government.

The presidential post itself is mostly ceremonial, but Wlazny believes he could do "a lot of good things".

As president, Wlazny says, he would vet candidates proposed as ministers, making them go through a hiring process like in a company, to seek to avoid political chaos due to unfit leaders.

Currently the president usually doesn't reject the government's choices.

Read also

Italy's far-right Meloni begins tricky government talks

"I often have the feeling that it's harder to get an apprenticeship in Austria than a ministerial post," Wlazny said.

Cabaret on the side

Wlazny himself studied medicine in Vienna and worked as a general doctor in a hospital before quitting in 2014 to focus on music.

Besides being the lead singer of the band Turbobier, he performs cabaret and works with breweries to make his own beer, which is sold in Vienna supermarkets.

Wlazny said as president he would also want to push for the establishment of a so-called "Future Ministry" to check the impact of policy decisions on security, the environment, health and other sectors.

Wlazny's bare-bones campaign pushes for gender equality and animal welfare
Wlazny's bare-bones campaign pushes for gender equality and animal welfare. Photo: JOE KLAMAR / AFP/File
Source: AFP

He said measures should have been taken decades ago to avoid the country's dependence on fossil fuels, which hurts it now amid the ripple effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

At a recent event where Wlazny unveiled his few campaign posters -- he has put up just nine in total -- dozens gathered near a central Vienna shopping street, some just curious, others ready to support him.

Read also

'You cannot survive': Inflation bites as Thai election looms

"I am very happy that there is someone who stands up for good values... He is young, he is of this era," Brigitta Koppelhuber, 78, a retiree from Vienna, told AFP.

New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡️ find “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.