We, as the Independent Student Representative Lists of Austria (FLÖ), are horrified by the recently revealed statements of a board member of the AktionsGemeinschaft (AG), according to which there are allegedly joint plans with the Austrian federal government to abolish the ÖH federal representation should the AG not be included in the executive in the next legislative period.
The ÖH federal representation is of immense importance for the nationwide representation of students and especially for advising local university representations. Both members of the federal executive board of the AktionsGemeinschaft and representatives of AktionsGemeinschaft university groups with executive participation regularly make use of it, knowing that the quality of representation work at the federal level—regardless of political views—is of a high standard and equipped with professional expertise.
The AktionsGemeinschaft, as an opposition faction, is also part of the ÖH. We take Federal Chairman Dominik Ramusch at his word to sit down at a table and discuss topics, as long as the common table within the ÖH comes first.
We call on the AktionsGemeinschaft to take a position on whether there are already plans coordinated with the government to abolish the ÖH federal representation in a future coalition without AG executive participation.
A critical and strong ÖH is needed in the interest of students. And only we students should decide what the ÖH looks like in the future—not the ideology-driven ideas of the current federal government, which has proven through its scheduling of the upcoming ÖH elections how indifferent it is to the ÖH and students. Here, the AktionsGemeinschaft, whether independent of the ÖVP or not, should distinguish itself and be more aware of its responsibility, especially with regard to public statements.
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Contact for inquiries:
Sebastian Höft
Federal and Press Spokesperson
sebastian.hoeft@fachschaftslisten.at
+43 (0) 676 67 98 001