FLÖ leaves ÖH coalition because party politics must not take precedence over the interests of students
As Independent Student Representative Lists of Austria (FLÖ), we have continuously advocated for students in the executive of the Federal Representation of the Austrian Students“ Union (BV, ÖH) since 2011. As a party-independent faction, our most important concern is to place the interests of students at the center. The destructive factional infighting of recent months has enormously impaired work in the interest of students. The lack of willingness to engage in dialogue following the events at the last meeting of the ÖH Federal Representation led to an intolerable paralysis of the executive. Ultimately, it was no longer possible to criticize the government. ”When one is no longer allowed to point out grievances and the failures of the turquoise-green government, we, as FLÖ, can no longer be part of this executive," states Desmond Grossmann, until now ÖH Chair, clearly.
It pains us to have to end the coalition. However, under the given circumstances, we see this as the only way to continue working constructively for students at the federal level. As an opposition faction, together with the university representations, we will continue to fight to ensure that the interests of students are not buried under the rubble of party politics.
In den letzten 9 Jahren haben wir uns in der Exekutive für ein starkes und studierendenfreundliches Hochschulrecht eingesetzt. Eine konstruktive Zusammenarbeit mit dem Bundesministerium und anderen Stakeholdern war uns ein großes Anliegen, dennoch haben wir Fehlentscheidungen dieser immer offen kritisiert und auch in Stellungnahmen, Presseaussendungen und Gesprächen die Missstände und deren Konsequenzen aufgezeigt. Besonders wichtig war und ist uns die bestmögliche Vertretung der Studierenden auf lokalen Ebenen. Deshalb haben wir unzählige Fortbildungen für Studierendenvetreter_innen aller Hochschulsektoren in ganz Österreich organisiert und stehen diesen auch abseits dieser mit Rat und Tat zur Seite.
A big thank you goes to all volunteer staff members of our FLÖ family, who in recent years have represented the interests of all students to the best of their ability and will continue to act in the interest of students. We would also like to express our gratitude to the employees of the BV, who have supported us in our work and who represent the continuous cornerstone of the ÖH.