We want to publish a report of Mayday 2019 in Austria. Correspondents of the "Antifaschistische Aktion - Infoblatt" brought together reports from Vienna, Graz, Linz, Vorarlberg, Salzburg and Innsbruck.
Mayday 2019: „For the proletariat: let’s go to action!“
Thousands * were taking to the streets all over Austria around the 1st of May to uphold the „International Day of Struggle of the Proletariat“. It turned out that there is great interest to bring the contents of the workers, such as the resistance to the 12-hour working day, against capital and for internationalism, on the streets. By numerous activists and revolutionaries, who embarked on this Mayday, slogans against the EU were launched, an end to the 12-hour working day was demanded, they opposed racism, and highlighted the importance of a revolutionary organization of the working class!
In particular, the revolutionary forces in Austria gave a powerful, lively and internationalist expression to the Mayday 2019. In many places, revolutionaries from Austria and Turkey marched shoulder to shoulder and followed the call to form a red bloc together. They carried a combative mood into the demonstrations. In Linz, as we were told, the demonstration was smaller than last year, parts of the demonstration-leaders even more tried to split the demonstration, but it was this combative block that took the initiative and upheld the combative tradition of the Mayday among the demonstrators with a good mood. An activist told us, „After parts of the demo leadership wanted to forbid a banner, that symbolizes Maoism, all those who joined the Red Block got even closer together and were even more determined to defend the cause of the international proletariat.” In Vienna, this block showed a very strong internationalist expression both in its composition, as well as in terms of posters and banners. The world’s most advanced struggles were held up, including the defense of political prisoners in India and a poster which said “Forwards in the People’s War” was carried. „I have not yet experienced Mayday, when unity among the revolutionaries was expressed so clearly, both in content and in joint action. This was an enormously important step for the coming year and the tasks ahead of the workers and the oppressed masses. Both against the attacks of the rulers, or even against the EU!”, an activist from Vienna reported.
In Innsbruck, according to our correspondents, the slogan stood out: „Forward, forward, out on the 1st of May – long live the Communist Party!“. „Contrary to the reformist distortions, both the struggle against the 12-hour working day was upheld, and made clear that the Communist Party is in the center“, said an activist in Innsbruck.
We can also report, that Mayday was not only powerfully committed at demonstrations, but was also „brought to the population“ in various forms. In Linz, for example, the slogans of the 1st of May were brought to the people at the funfair, in the crowd of thousands of people with a successful action. That attracted a lot attention and was received very positively!
Very important for this Mayday appears to us, that 130 years after the decision on Mayday as „International Day of Struggle“ its meaning and tradition still lives on and it is struggled „to carry socialism into the proletariat“, said one activist of the demonstration in Graz and added, “we cached a lot of attention, when we spread the international ideology of the proletariat through transparent and slogans and with a struggling attitude into the demonstration!”. For this reason, we have included the banners reading „In the service of the proletariat – long live the organization of the revolutionaries!“ very centrally in our report. This Mayday proved in different ways that there are many in Austria today, among workers, among young people, migrants and women, who trust in their own strength and resolutely place themselves at the service of the proletariat. In this attitude lives the appeal of Marx and Engels „Proletarians of all countries, unite!“, which became with Mayday to international action.
We want to conclude with a quotation from a speech on the occasion of this year’s Mayday: „This year’s Mayday was an important signal to all revolutionaries, anti-fascists and anti-imperialists, to emphasize and support the organization of the revolutionaries in the struggle against oppression and exploitation even more determined!”
* Only in Innsbruck there were about 2000 people.
CORRESPONDENCE
„Following the Mayday demonstration, some activists launched an action at the “Urfahraner Jahrmarkt”, the largest funfair in Linz. On the same day, just a short time before, the FPÖ held their traditional Mayday event there, with the entire party leadership. It was swarming with people and police. This did not prevent us from going through the crowd with our banner and spread the struggle both for the revolutionary organization of the proletariat and against the attacks of the rulers! The action was partly received very positively by the people, especially the slogan against the 12 hours working day. “ (Nina)
