Today, Wednesday, there were token strikes in numerous provincial capitals across Austria. The organisers of the anti-government demonstrations have called for a one-day work stoppage. This should be seen as the first warning of a general strike.
In the centre of Vienna, about 1,000 people gathered at Maria-Theresien-Platz. At the completely peaceful demonstration, different speeches were held against the government. The focus was once again on the planned compulsory vaccination, which is to come into force on February 1. The demonstration proceeded without incident. There was also extensive promotion of an upcoming large demonstration in Vienna next Saturday, December 4. Afterwards, the demonstrators walked united across the Ring boulevard, which had to be closed off by the police.
People in Klagenfurt also took part in the token strike. As can be seen in the pictures from mein Bezirk, well over 1,000 people were also on the streets in the Carinthian capital. Afterwards, the people marched in front of the Carinthian ORF broadcasting centre and demonstrated against the media policy of the state broadcaster.
Most people gathered in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. Although the police only report about 1,500 demonstrators, it is easy to see from the media pictures that there must have been several thousand strikers. As reported by the newspaper Heute, there was even a traffic gridlock as the Nibelungen Bridge in Linz was peacefully occupied by the demonstrators.But there were also smaller demonstrations in the other provincial capitals. As reported by the newspaper Die Presse, people also gathered for demonstrations in Graz, Eisenstadt, St. Pölten, Innsbruck and Salzburg. While around 1,000 people took part in Graz according to media pictures, there were a few hundred in the other provincial capitals. If you add up the numbers across Austria, there were more than 10,000 despite the wintry temperatures. For an afternoon on a weekday, a considerable number.