Imminent Austrian Fiasco

Austria is about to impose lockdown restrictions on 35% of its population. Only those with a valid green pass will be allowed to enjoy the sort of freedoms that we all took for granted a few months ago. As such, Austria is going to be the first genuine apartheid state in Europe since the 1940s.

As horrible as this may sound, it's likely to work against the tyrants, because the plan suffers from the same flaw that has worked against tyranny in the past. It ignores the fact that it cannot be effectively implemented.

There's no way to control the movements of 35% of the population. Enforcement will be sporadic and brutish. There will be random arrests and show trials, making Austrian law enforcement look bad in the eyes of everyone but the most fearful.

The police is unlikely to embrace their role as jackboots. They may show some initial flare, but it will fade. Few are still fearful of the virus, and recent incidents have made it clear that the vaccine is likely to do more harm than good. We're dealing with a failed experiment, and few outside of politics want to be associated with it, especially in a country where 35% of the population is firmly against the whole charade.

Eva Maria Holzleitner

By SPÖ Presse und Kommunikation - Tagung SPÖ Parlamentsklub, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link