Posters presented – Van der Bellen: “You don’t play with Austria”

He referred, among other things, to the European Union, democracy and the federal constitution of Austria. Some German presidential candidates (eg Gerald Grosz, Walter Rosenkranz, note) have indicated that they want to leave the EU, which is incorrect. “The office of the Federal President is not there to ignite (…). Austria is a small export-oriented country (…)” and has thus become prosperous, said Van der Bellen in a press conference on Tuesday.

Don’t want to cause uncertainty
Anyone who does not feel Europe is wrong in the office of Federal President. According to Van der Bellen, it is legitimate to discuss the bureaucracy of EU institutions, for example, but he does not want a discussion about departure. In “stormy times”, as one of his posters puts it, the Federal President himself does not want to cause additional chaos and uncertainty, but instead wants to be confident and radiate peace and stability.

“For me, responsibility and duty are paramount (…)”, says Van der Bellen. This is also reflected in his poster series. On Tuesday, he and his campaign team presented the first four large-format posters. “Reason and stability in turbulent times” reads on one the candidate shows at his desk. The “stormy times” include the climate crisis, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

“Don’t Be Divided”
“The European level must not allow itself to be divided during war (…).” That is exactly what Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to achieve. The EU has also shown determination to date and must continue to do so, says Van der Bellen.