In this pandemic, one word has been used very often: solidarity. It has been demanded, lived, tried, scorned, ignored for one and three quarters of years. And now, just before Christmas, I was once again shown where solidarity begins – and where it ends.
Last Sunday, around 40,000 people gathered in Vienna’s inner city to with a sea of lights made of candles to commemorate the corona deaths in Austria. A week earlier, about as many people had demonstrated against the corona measures and the compulsory vaccination in exactly the same place. There was then heated discussion on social media as to why it was okay if some took to the streets – and the others didn’t. Isn’t both crowd gathering and in a pandemic irresponsible? Can you distinguish between good demos and bad demos?
Yes, you can. Because in the end you can draw a sharp dividing line between the two groups, namely along the motif. When people, in compliance with the applicable Corona rules – i.e. with FFP2 masks and the necessary safety distance – gather on the Ringstrasse to light candles for the deceased and thank the hospital staff, then the main thing is to give a small sign of the To put solidarity. According to the motto: We accept the applicable measures, we think of our fellow human beings and of those who fight for the life of every sick person in overcrowded hospitals.
Understandable, but at the same time lacking solidarity
Why did the group of vaccine opponents, lateral thinkers and right-wing extremists take to the streets? While important issues such as fundamental rights may have played a role, it was essentially about personal freedom. About not getting vaccinated and not having to restrict yourself. That is understandable, but at the same time completely lacking in solidarity. Because those who are not ready to give up that little bit of freedom contribute to the spread of a virus that claims human lives. So in the end it’s just a matter of solidarity.
Speaking of solidarity: This is what Marlene Engelhorn is all about. The 29-year-old Viennese is a descendant of the BASF founder Friedrich Engelhorn – and will one day inherit an amount in the double-digit million range from her grandmother Traudl. She wants to give at least 90 percent of it. Why? “There are people who, with unbelievable wealth, inherit unbelievable chances in life and power, and who, like me, have achieved nothing at all. That is not fair,” she explained to my colleague Caspar Busse and me in an interview.
For Engelhorn, solidarity means giving up something for the good of society. In her case, it is the majority of the inherited wealth – because she can still live well with the remaining ten percent. Better than most people.
One would think that what she sacrifices is not very high. And yet it is precisely when it comes to the taxation of wealth that there is still room for improvement in solidarity in our society. We refuse to give up in so many areas of life, even if it benefits everyone – and maybe even us in the end. For Christmas, let’s think about how this will be a little less difficult for us in the future.
This column will also appear on December 23rd in the Austria Newsletter, which bundles the reporting on Austria in the SZ. Register now for free.