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In “Licht ins Dunkel” on ORF, local politicians unpacked on Christmas Eve about their Christmas wishes, worries and hopes.
“Humanity has to have the last word”, opened the Christmas message Cardinal Archbishop Christoph Schönborn of Vienna. He recalled that the true message of Christmas is that God has allowed himself to enter this world and “that, therefore, the world is not lost, even if it is in a crisis like that of the pandemic crown.” And: “Politics should not have the last word, humanity should have the last word. You can find ways to combine good politics and humanity.”
As a “voice of reason”, religious communities in particular are tasked with cultivating an appreciative and harmonious exchange in crisis situations, according to Ümit Vural, president of the Community of Islamic Faith in Austria. The other religious representatives, such as Chief Rabbi Jaron Engelmayer, Greek Orthodox Archpriest Nikolaus Rappert, President of the Buddhist Religious Society, Gerhard Weissgrab, and the Higher Council of the Austrian Evangelical Church, said that the value of solidarity and opportunity to discover positive things in the crisis, Karl Schiefermair.
“This year everyone realized that health is simply the highest good, which sadly cannot be taken for granted”
The federal president and sponsor of the “Licht ins Dunkel” campaign, Alexander Van der Bellen, and his wife Doris Schmidauer were invited in the morning and helped out on the donation phone: “It is important to remember that with courage and confidence, you are completely different life happens in the long term. We have to find a way even in crisis situations. This is how we learned from the pandemic, which at the beginning no one would have expected, that we will have a vaccine by the end of the year “.
Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz stressed: “It was an extremely challenging year for all of us. Also for politics. During this year everyone realized that health is simply the highest good, which unfortunately cannot be taken for granted.” The Chancellor emphasized how difficult it is, especially for older people, to cross the line between necessary protection on the one hand and isolation on the other. Kurz was optimistic that the new year “will hopefully bring a sea change” and, with the return to normalcy, will allow “a state that establishes as few rules as possible.”
“It could also be useful one day to make things quieter”
Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler named cohesion and patience, both in private and in politics, as virtues of the pandemic, which also apply to the issue of vaccination: “Some should present arguments, but without coercion, and skeptics should listen. The arguments “. For the silent night, which this year will become an unusual reality, especially on New Year’s Eve, “it could also be useful if it becomes calmer,” said the vice-rector.
The opposition parties also brought the message of unity to the fore, where the political controversy stopped. SPÖ Party Leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner: “It is a year of great challenges and great lessons. Corona’s great lesson is that we can only overcome these crises together.” Norbert Hofer, leader of the FPÖ federal party: “Especially at Christmas time, politics is not a problem, the personal, the human counts. But of course, politics accompanies each of us because politics influences life. We all they have their backpack, you have to talk about that too they can. ” National Council member Helmut Brandstätter of NEOS admitted that even politicians don’t have answers for everything and that “lifelong learning” is just as important as “strong media and strong opposition” to democratic control.
