Van der Bellen in New Year's Address: Call for More Dialog and Confidence
In his New Year's address, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen called on Austrians and all those living in Austria for more confidence and constructive dialog.
Alexander Van der Bellen calls for people to talk "more with each other" and "less about each other". / Picture: © Österreichische Präsidentschaftskanzlei / Peter Lechner/HBF
Austria's President Van der Bellen emphasized the need to talk "more with each other and less about each other" to gain new insights and improve coexistence. Van der Bellen criticized the tendency to only exchange ideas with like-minded people and pointed out that this is harmful to society in the long term.
Given the super-election year 2024, in which various state elections, local council elections, an EU election, and a National Council election are scheduled, Van der Bellen emphasized the importance of communication. He appealed to the campaigning parties to focus on the exchange of arguments and ideas rather than accusations and curses. He wanted the parties to argue constructively without leaving the ground of reason and called on voters to judge the parties by what they bring out of people.
Van der Bellen also expressed his concern about the climate emergency and the greenhouse effect, stressing that science and facts must be acknowledged. He called for energy to be spent on solving problems rather than questioning facts.
In conclusion, Van der Bellen called for more confidence and emphasized the strengths of Austrian society, such as science, research, art, economy, and solidarity. He expressed his firm belief that society is capable of building a good future and wished everyone a great 2024.