The immediate reason for the demonstration was the announcement last week by Chancellor Schallenberg that a vaccination obligation for everyone is coming and that Austria will go into lockdown from Monday, the fourth since the start of the corona pandemic.
The demonstration was partly called for by the right-wing political party FPÖ. The leader of this party, Herbert Kickl, was unable to participate in the demonstration due to corona, but he was still there through a video message. He called for widespread resistance. He had previously strongly criticized the government and spoke of a dictatorship in Austria.
Neonazi’s
The protesters also included neo-Nazis known to authorities and members of other right-wing groups.
The Austrian government decided last week that the country will be in lockdown for at least ten and a maximum of twenty days from Monday. In addition, all Austrians must have been vaccinated by February 1. The 2G rule has also been introduced, which means that people who have not been vaccinated can move less freely.
The government is taking the measures because of the increasing number of infections. Today there were 15,000 new positive cases, out of a population of just under nine million. For comparison: in the Netherlands there were almost 22,000 infections until this morning with a population that is almost twice as high as in Austria.
With the upcoming lockdown approaching, many Austrians took the opportunity to go shopping today. The inner cities and shopping centers were full. From Monday, people are only allowed to leave the house for the necessary things.
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