Beer party at 8% – Pogo: One-man show just as strong as NEOS and the Greens

Eight percent, that’s really strong beer. For Marco Pogo and his beer party, this means the best prospects for entering parliament. Should he actually compete? Surveys show that Dominik Wlazny, the real name of the head of the Beer Party, is aligned with the Greens and NEOS. The two parties have been an integral part of the House of Representatives for many years and also work in governments – especially the Greens. Professional musician Pogo is now touring the country as a one-man show. Still without election campaign appearances and election manifestos. So what makes him so attractive?

Öllinger: “A risky company”
Former Green Party politician Karl Öllinger says: “The phenomenon of voters responding so strongly and with approval to largely blank slates or parties has been observed for many years – mainly regionally – but also at the federal level. See Stronach or Sebastian Kurz’s reinvention of the ÖVP.”

The likely motive is the hope that a new party or group will do better than the well-known one. “This is of course a risky undertaking that usually does not end well. For hope, sometimes also for the electorate or for political culture and the state as a whole.” According to Öllinger, the established parties must come to terms with this and respond. Also his Greens.

Strolz: “Established parties are tight”
Matthias Strolz, 51, is co-founder of NEOS. The charismatic author and entrepreneur is likely to make a comeback with his pinkies. How does he assess the Pogo situation?

“You don’t know yet what he and his party stand for. What are the plans for health, safety, education, social affairs? How would you vote on these and other policy areas in Parliament? The Beer Party is currently a blank slate and as such an ideal projection surface for people who are dissatisfied with current politics. And as we all know, there are many.”

Strolz senses a desire for something new. “And I get it. The established parties are rather unimaginative in their form and presentation and cling jealously to old structures. You are breathing tight.”

The established parties should be braver and more determined in their innovation. For example, they could open up more and act as a platform. That would make them more accessible to people. Today’s parliamentary parties are increasingly seen as a closed society and unworldly. There was a lack of imagination and courage to open up and innovate. “The momentum of the new lies with the FPÖ and Marco Pogo. The former is completely reinventing itself in the media field by creating its own media empire. And Marco Pogo is ‘the crazy new’, the ‘new kid in town’.”

“Free beer alone doesn’t solve it”
It is doubtful whether accession to parliament would be useful for our Austria. “I remember Frank Stronach having similar poll numbers to today’s beer fest. Implosion quickly followed in parliament because the force had no substance whatsoever.” In the first two years of its founding, NEOS invested more than two million volunteer hours in joint program development. Thousands actively participated. “That’s the glue that holds things together. Free beer alone will not solve the problem.” More than a thousand new parties have been founded since 1975, the vast majority of which, says Strolz, “have failed themselves and have proven incapable of creating any added value for the country and its people.”

Researcher: “Pogo enjoys puppy protection”
Pollster Christoph Haselmayer (IFDD) also sees the Beer Party on equal footing with the Greens and NEOS. “This shows the total frustration of the population with the traditional parties.” Support currently comes from all parties. “He has not yet had to comment on factual issues. That is why he still enjoys media and political protection.” Haselmayer thinks that Pogo will not be able to maintain his level until the end. “Because in an election campaign he also has to take a position on important issues such as asylum or inflation.”