Ex-minister with book – Rudi Anschober: “I like to be a dreamer”

In the publisher’s photos, the former Minister of Social Affairs and ‘Krone’ columnist is standing in a meadow and looking quite happy. The city of Vienna lies at his feet, his gaze wanders into the distance – or into the future? In any case, it is the subject of his new book. We talk to the young dog “Junior” during a walk, which Anschober also reports on again and again in his blog.

“Kron”: Mr. Anschober, the title of your new book is “How We Take Back Our Future.” Isn’t it a denial itself?
Rudi Anschober: This is not a contradiction, but an image. Many people believe that they no longer have a future. They are resigned and suppress future problems and crises. The portrait must say: we have a future. And that is when we act together very consistently. But the decisions are made by politicians.
Yes, but we need to build pressure and move politics there. As has been the case with many changes in human history. People came together and made changes. This is an essential part of my book. How was slavery abolished and how did the civil rights movement gain the upper hand in the US? How have major successes been achieved in the environmental sector? This was always the effort of a few people, who grew in number until they eventually exceeded a critical mass.

Is it an optimistic book?
I distinguish between optimism, which in my opinion is an almost naive attitude, and hope. The book is very hopeful and is intended to motivate people not to give up, but to join forces with others and work towards a good future.

A bumper election year is now approaching, with the right predicted to win the most votes, both nationally and across Europe and the world. Is there really any hope?
I don’t believe in all these predictions and studies at all. We have just witnessed an election with big surprises in Salzburg. I have the impression that the research institutes are increasingly wrong, because people form their opinions very independently and in the short term and often do not make them known. I’m much more optimistic about it. I believe, for example, that the climate or corona deniers are the loudest. But many more people know what it is about and why it is necessary to implement climate change now, in this decade. In my view, every upcoming election is also a climate election.

However, your party, the Greens, is not exactly very popular.
This issue should not be attributed solely to one party. That is the responsibility of all of us. I also expect many other parties to join forces and do what is necessary. I just don’t expect it from one party, the FPÖ.

In the book you are 80 and you look back on a good life. When was the moment you knew you had to write it?
That was exactly a year ago and that has a lot to do with my lectures. There are usually between 100 and 200 people there who come from very different political perspectives, very interested people. And when I point out problems, a resigned mood quickly arises in the room. In the second part I have always tried to show solutions and successful models that already exist in some cities – in Paris for example, the great restructuring of the city, or in Utrecht, the great cycling city. Suddenly there was a lot of hope in the room. And at times like this, a lot of motivation can arise to want to do something, because you see that there are already so many examples in which it works. I believe that we just need that encouragement, that it is good for us, because we need to get out of this feeling of powerlessness. In that sense it is a book of encouragement and hope.

How do you measure the success of the book?
This book is successful if I can give people an impulse to talk about a good future. Many people no longer believe that things can go well in the future. And if we thought before the interview that it wouldn’t work, well, it won’t work. In the book I paint a positive picture of the future. In 2040, many details may look different. For me it’s all about the impulse. That things can go in the right direction if we act right.

Do politicians give people too little trust?
Not just politicians, we have become a society of negativism in general. You can already see that in the media. Only bad news is good news. This leads us to overvalue the negative and no longer see the positive. And that requires an incredible amount of energy from us.

How do you respond to someone who says you are a dreamer who firmly believes in good?
Laughs – I like to be a dreamer and encourager. We all have to learn to dream of a positive future again. Although we must be clear that this dream will only become reality if we work very, very hard for it.

What can individuals do?
We can experience climate change in our personal, private space. For example, I travel alone by public transport. Also to the many events throughout Austria. It functions. But politicians also have to do something, because it is still extremely difficult for people living in rural areas. There needs to be expansion and offers need to be created. That is why personal action and voting belong together, so that politics also contributes. These are two sides of the same coin. And that’s called ‘change’.

Change scares most people. Not you?
No, because life will be better after climate change. I have tried to represent this as precisely as possible. For example, how does a city change? Paris is a role model for me. There are now many more shade areas and fewer large asphalt areas, where the heat spreads extremely in the summer and therefore threatens people’s health. We need to step out of this uncertainty to see that this is not a waiver program.

How and where did you write your book?
At home on the computer. It’s quite a nice place, because I look through a large window directly at a very old lime tree. This tree plays a prominent role in the book. At the beginning of the book and at the end of the book: it starts with my 80th birthday and ends there.

Do animals also live in trees?
Naturally. We have a lot of squirrels, we have several ravens that live there. There are also many other birds. The lime tree is a few centuries old and unfortunately already has a few mistletoes. Nevertheless, it overshadows a large area and that is exactly why we need to make cities greener again in the future; we need more trees. Because this allows us to store CO₂ and lower the temperature.

How strongly are you still anchored in the Greens?
I am a party member, but after 18 years in governments and before that in parliament, I am finally done with party politics. That was a total of 34 years. That’s a lot of time I invested in party politics. Now I am a political person who seeks dialogue with interested citizens. Sometimes I still think to myself: I would now like to make my own decisions in politics. But overall, I consider it a great privilege to have more time to sit down with female scientists, to delve deeper with them into questions that personally seem very important to me. Much of that has been incorporated into this book.

Is there also the thought that at least the lime tree will still experience the future you hoped for?
I also hope I live that long. But of course the linden will outlive me. That is why nature is actually our most important partner. Nature and animals are, as it were, our logical friends in the process of climate change.

Are you happy now?
Yes, because I lead a completely different, new, second life. A life after politics that does not end in frustration or retirement, but a life of much greater self-determination, in which I feel that I can still make a meaningful contribution.

How old do you want to be?
I believe that every person wants to live as old as possible and at the same time remain as healthy as possible. Every year, every month, every day is a gift to be accepted with great gratitude.

What should we say about Rudi Anschober?
I haven’t thought about that yet. Perhaps he has made a small contribution to ensuring that many future generations still have a good life on this beautiful planet.