I'm totally stuck on Austria's anti-Turkish views this week. I've been saying for a while that the anti-turkish sentiment is an interaction of the lack of economic ties with Turkey and xenophobia. Adding to the evidence is the fact that in Vienna, where most of Austria's 200,000 Turks live, all but the most rabid anti-Turkish party, the Freedom Party, is courting Turkish voters:
Most of Austria's major political parties don't want Turkey in the European Union. But it's election time in Vienna, and suddenly those same parties are courting the local Turkish vote. So how do you meld the conflicting interests of appealing to the mainstream Turkophobe Austrian electorate while catering to the large minority of voters of Turkish origin whose ballot will make a difference Sunday when the capital goes to the polls in municipal elections? "It's tough occasionally," conceded Nurten Yilmaz, an Austrian of Turkish origins, as she took a break from handing out red balloons and folders urging voters %u2014 Turkish and others %u2014 to vote for her Social Democratic Party. Only one of the five parties running for City Hall %u2014 the xenophobic Freedom Party %u2014 is not fielding a Turkish candidate. Instead it is appealing to the rabidly anti-Turkish fringe vote with posters declaring, "Liberated Women instead of the Mandatory Headscarf," and "German instead of "Don't Understand.'" But with most of Austria's 200,000-strong Turkish community living in Vienna, a city of about 1.5 million people, the other parties cannot ignore their vote. Many Turks here are skeptical of their sudden popularity %u2014 and with reason. "I've been here for 20 years but I'm still not fully accepted," said Vienna Turk Mehmet Akar in strongly accented German as he stopped at Yilmaz's stand in Vienna's 16th District, where kebab joints rub shoulders with stores offering more traditional Austrian goods.
Politics ultimately is always about getting votes, and in Vienna, that means courting the Turks.
Most of Austria's major political parties don't want Turkey in the European Union. But it's election time in Vienna, and suddenly those same parties are courting the local Turkish vote. So how do you meld the conflicting interests of appealing to the mainstream Turkophobe Austrian electorate while catering to the large minority of voters of Turkish origin whose ballot will make a difference Sunday when the capital goes to the polls in municipal elections? "It's tough occasionally," conceded Nurten Yilmaz, an Austrian of Turkish origins, as she took a break from handing out red balloons and folders urging voters %u2014 Turkish and others %u2014 to vote for her Social Democratic Party. Only one of the five parties running for City Hall %u2014 the xenophobic Freedom Party %u2014 is not fielding a Turkish candidate. Instead it is appealing to the rabidly anti-Turkish fringe vote with posters declaring, "Liberated Women instead of the Mandatory Headscarf," and "German instead of "Don't Understand.'" But with most of Austria's 200,000-strong Turkish community living in Vienna, a city of about 1.5 million people, the other parties cannot ignore their vote. Many Turks here are skeptical of their sudden popularity %u2014 and with reason. "I've been here for 20 years but I'm still not fully accepted," said Vienna Turk Mehmet Akar in strongly accented German as he stopped at Yilmaz's stand in Vienna's 16th District, where kebab joints rub shoulders with stores offering more traditional Austrian goods.
Politics ultimately is always about getting votes, and in Vienna, that means courting the Turks.
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