Give 16-Year-Olds Something to Vote for, Not Just the Vote
Austria’s experience with 16-year-old voters shows that expanding the franchise does little to restore trust when elections amount to a choice between managed decline and the far right.
27 Article(s) by: Adam Baltner
Adam Baltner is a teacher and translator in Vienna, Austria.
In Austria, Communists Could Get Back Into Parliament
Austria’s Communist Party hasn’t had an MP since 1959. But after years showing its worth in bread-and-butter local campaigns, the party has a realistic chance of a breakthrough in Sunday’s general election.
Austria’s Communists Are Curbing the Far Right’s Rise
Austria’s Communist Party just increased its vote by over 20% in the Salzburg city elections — and it now has a shot at winning the mayor’s office. It shows that a party that credibly fights for working people’s interests can do well anywhere.
Austria’s Communist Party Is Defying the Right-Wing Turn
After two years heading Graz city hall, Communist Elke Kahr was recently named the world’s best mayor. Now, her Communist Party is hoping to win power in Salzburg and show that Austria isn’t doomed to turn to the far right.
Sahra Wagenknecht Can’t Unite Germany’s Working Class
Long a leader of Germany’s left party Die Linke, Sahra Wagenknecht looks set on creating her own rival party. She accuses the Left of abandoning its historic base — but her appeal to conservative values divides the working class rather than uniting it.
Austria’s Bernie Sanders Beat the Establishment and Became Party Leader
For years, Austria’s Social Democrats have embraced the values of the free market and lost ever more working-class votes. Now, left-winger Andreas Babler has surged to the party leadership — and promises to transform his country’s politics.
Germany’s Finance Minister Is the Most Dangerous Man in Europe
The European Commission has proposed a slight loosening of debt limits — but Germany’s neoliberal finance minister Christian Lindner is blocking the change. His zombie economics will impoverish citizens and hasten the rise of the far right.
Austria’s Communists Are Showing How Class Politics Is Done
In Sunday’s state elections in Salzburg, Austria, the Communist Party scored 12% of the vote. Their success mobilizing around housing issues shows that a focus on working people’s material needs can rally support even in long-conservative areas.
If the European Union Doesn’t Democratize, It Will Crumble
After a decade that produced a series of shocks, the European Union seems to have weathered its worst moment of crisis. Yet the EU still suffers a fundamental lack of democracy — and the Left should be in the forefront of demanding its reform.
Central Bank Capitalism Is Forcing the Global South Into a Debt Crisis
The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are withdrawing money from markets in the name of fighting inflation. But the move is aggravating the pressures of debt on the Global South — and pushing states toward ruinous austerity measures.
Turkey’s War Against the Kurds Exposes NATO’s Aggression
With all eyes on the war in Ukraine, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is planning a fresh invasion of northern Syria. For 70 years, Turkey has been a key NATO member — and NATO's backing for its aggression shows the alliance is no mere defense pact.
Meet the Communist Running Austria’s Second Largest City
This fall, the Communist Party won the local elections in Austria’s second largest city, Graz, for the first time in history. New mayor Elke Kahr told Jacobin what a proudly Marxist party can hope to achieve from city hall.
Once Jailed for His Beliefs, Socialist Max Zirngast Now Holds Public Office
Jacobin contributor Max Zirngast, who was imprisoned in Turkey for his left-wing political writing, has now been elected to the municipal council of his home city of Graz, along with several other Communist Party of Austria members.
Big Tech Won’t Make Health Care Any Better
Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed in 2019 that his company’s greatest achievement will be “about health.” But the pandemic has shown that Big Tech’s involvement in health care is all about data collection.
The Communist Party Just Won the Elections in Austria’s Second-Biggest City
In Sunday’s elections in Graz, Austria, the Communist Party romped to victory for the first time in history. Jacobin spoke to one of its winning candidates about how the party built a “red fortress” in the city.
In Graz, Austria, Communists Have Built a Red Fortress
In Graz, Austria’s second-largest city, Communists have ridden a wave of working-class discontent to become the main challenger to the ruling conservatives.
In Red Vienna, Stella Kadmon Was a Pioneer of Political Theater
As Austria turned toward Nazism, the Jewish socialist actress Stella Kadmon brought anti-fascist resistance to the stage.
We Want a Society Without Landlords
The popularity of Berlin’s campaign to expropriate corporate landlords shows just how few people trust capitalism to provide them with affordable, good-quality homes.
The Queen’s Gambit Is a Merciless Takedown of Hollywood Anti-Communism
Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit shows a Cold War world far from the usual Hollywood tropes of freedom-loving Americans confronting evil Russian totalitarians. The villains in this piece aren’t our heroine’s Soviet chess rivals, but the middle-class tyrants of US suburbia.
Germany’s Christian Democrats Are Turning Toward Coalition with the Greens
This weekend's Christian-Democrat conference elected Armin Laschet as new party leader, narrowly defeating his Trump-like rival. With Chancellor Angela Merkel set to step down this fall, the party is seeking a new centrist bloc with the Greens — but still faces a hard-right upsurge within its own ranks.