Alexander Van der Bellen: “Talk more to each other and less about each other”
Vienna (OTS) – Dear Austrians and everyone who lives in Austria!
I wish you a nice evening and hope you had a good new year.
We all have hopes and wishes for the new year. Here are some of my important ones: I hope that we as a society will be able to talk to each other more again. And less on top of each other.
In recent years we have gotten into the habit of dealing primarily with them
people who already have the same opinion as us. And I believe that this is not good for our coexistence in the long term. Apart from it being boring. Anyone who only allows their own opinions to be confirmed will never come to new insights.
Let’s talk to each other more again. And if possible, don’t let us constantly fall into either/or categories. Let’s make sure we’re not just talking to the extreme fringes. Let’s take a look at what’s going on in the middle. And to get to that center, we all have to move. That has always been the Austrian way and I hope that we will act more accordingly in the future.
This year in particular, we will need the ability to talk to one another: there are various state elections, local council elections, an election for the European Parliament and a National Council election coming up. And before and in between there is an election campaign.
And here too I have one wish: May the parties campaigning for the election succeed in exchanging arguments instead of accusations. And ideas instead
curses. And we are happy to argue constructively, but never leave the ground of reason.
I have nothing against emotions, but in election campaigns they are usually used when the arguments have run out. And then they rarely bring out the best in us.
Please check and judge the parties campaigning based on what
bring them out of people. This is a good way to tell whether it is
whether they are constructive forces or not.
Yes, I wish sanity for our homeland. I wish for sanity
all political parties. Because there will also be a time after the election
and we should all still be able to look each other in the eyes.
Ladies and gentlemen,
there will also be a time after our time. I hope that our children and grandchildren will also find a planet worth living in, an Austria worth living in.
The climate emergency and the greenhouse effect have been scientifically proven
We all experience the consequences almost every week now. How ignorant
How far away from nature do you have to be not to notice it? And
the science, the facts, the truth doesn’t change just because we don’t believe it.
Yes, that’s what I also hope for in 2024: that we don’t shake facts that there is nothing to shake. Let’s put our energy into solving the problems.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Do you know what else I hope for us? More confidence. I know sometimes people look askance at you or think you’re naive when you’re confident. But I’m telling you: we need the confidence to survive. And once you get into the habit of looking for the good things, you suddenly see more and more of them.
And despite all the challenges, we are still here. We are one
efficient society, an imaginative, compassionate, a peace-loving and benevolent society.
And we have all the skills and characteristics we need to be one
Building a good future: Our science and research. Our art.
Our economy. Our strength and energy. Our curiosity. Our openness. Our solidarity. Our people. We all contribute something. With what we can do.
Ladies and gentlemen,
These are the things I want for all of us. I firmly believe that they will come true. I wish you a great 2024. May it be even better than you expect. Thank you for your attention!
Questions & Contact:
Austrian presidential office, press and communication
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