Most Austrians -- and most of the country's major political parties -- vehemently oppose Turkey's bid to join the EU. 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 voters of Turkish origin whose ballot will make a difference in yesterday's capital's election?
"It's tough occasionally," conceded Nurten Yilmaz, an Austrian of Turkish origin, as she took a break from handing out red balloons and folders urging voters -- Turkish and otherwise -- to vote for her Social Democratic Party.
Only one of the five parties running for City Hall -- the xenophobic Freedom Party -- is not fielding a Turkish candidate. Instead, it appeals 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 -- and with reason.
"I've been here for 20 years but I'm still not fully accepted," Mehmet Akar said in strongly accented German as he stopped at Yilmaz's stand in Vienna's 16th District, where kebab stores are next to shops offering more traditional Austrian goods.
Recent EU surveys show only one in 10 Austrians backs the idea of Turkey joining the bloc. Austria tends to have little political clout in the EU. Yet it took days of intense pressure from the bloc's 24 other member states for Vienna to abandon its attempt earlier this month to scuttle talks with Turkey on future full membership.
Critics say that local politics played a part, with Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel hoping -- but failing -- to swing voter sentiment behind his conservative People's Party in the province of Styria by demonstrating his party's unbending opposition to Turkish EU membership.
In Germany, the other EU nation with a large Turkish-origin electorate, the governing Social Democratic party supported Turkey's bid to join the EU, while the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) objected. The resulting Social Democratic vote among Germany's 2.6 million-strong Turkish community is thought to have contributed to the unexpectedly good showing by the party that left the favored CDU with little choice but to form a coalition with its traditional rival.
In Austria, there is no such clear divide on the Turkish question. But the People's Party -- the governing party nationally -- seems to be fighting an uphill battle because of its vehement opposition to Turkish EU membership.
Turkish candidate Sirvan Ekici repeatedly canceled appointments with a reporter wanting to accompany her during campaigning. Even the rightist BZOE has fielded a candidate of Turkish origin, despite past opposition to immigrants by its leading figures, including populist firebrand Joerg Haider.
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
‘SHARP COMPETITION’: Australia is to partner with US-based Lockheed Martin to make guided multiple launch rocket systems, an Australian defense official said Australia is to ramp up missile manufacturing under a plan unveiled yesterday by a top defense official, who said bolstering weapons stockpiles would help keep would-be foes at bay. Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the nation would establish a homegrown industry to produce long-range guided missiles and other much-needed munitions. “Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” Conroy said in a speech. “That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.” Australia is to partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given
RSS