22 questions for Dominik Wlazny: "There were many situations in which Van der Bellen stayed really quiet"

Created: 09/18/2022, 04:48 am

By: Johannes Pressler

From the rock stage to the Hofburg?

Dominik Wlazny, candidate for the 2022 BP election. © Johannes Pressler/BuzzFeed Austria

Dominik Wlazny, candidate for the 2022 federal presidential election, in a major interview with BuzzFeed Austria.

(Note: This article was originally published on September 15, 2022.)

On the joint appointment calendar in the office, October 9th is still a question mark after “choice”.

But it has been fixed for a few weeks: Dominik Wlazny alias Marco Pogo will be allowed to compete in the 2022 federal presidential election.

dismissed by the ÖVP-Green government - compared to many of his opponents

.

Leaving the EU and the end of sanctions against Russia are also out of the question for Wlazny.

What the 35-year-old Viennese stands for, he says in an interview with BuzzFeed Austria.

22 questions to ...

... is the interview series by BuzzFeed Austria on the 2022 federal presidential election. All seven candidates have the opportunity to introduce themselves to our readers.

Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and FPÖ candidate Walter Rosenkranz canceled the invitation due to time constraints.

Heinrich Staudinger has not yet responded to our inquiry (and inquiry).

BP election 2022: 22 questions to Dominic Wlazny

1. As early as August 19, you were the first candidate to submit slightly more than the 6,000 required declarations of support to the federal electoral authority.

The other candidates took more time and presented more signatures in the end.

What's the rush for you?

The law stipulates that you need 6,000 declarations of support.

I submitted significantly more anyway and received many more signatures in the days that followed.

But it is not a competition for the number of declarations of support.

I didn't quite understand why such a battle broke out.

2. With the declarations of support, you had to point out that only your real name, Dominik Wlazny, is valid.

You will be at the bottom of the ballot.

There is a separate search term for Marco Pogo on Google Trends, and Dominik Wlazny's search contains "insufficient data".

Wouldn't it have been better to change the name for the presidential election at the latest?

No, because the Marco Pogo is the character that is on the stage.

I am standing for election with my real name, Dominik Wlazny.

It is correct that you put your real name on the ballot paper and you are not allowed to put Marco Pogo or Alfred Jodocus Kwak on it.

People should know who they are actually voting for.

3. Who is your political role model?

I can't pin it down to one specific person.

When I was young, I spent a lot of time in a support association for alternative music culture in the Lower Austrian provinces.

I was in close contact with many people there.

They were not partisan, but very political.

We had a lot of discussions and at the same time organized punk concerts.

This environment influenced me a lot.

4. To what extent has this environment shaped you?

What values ​​does Dominik Wlazny stand for?

I am a family-conscious person who is concerned that solidarity in our society will be lost.

Because of my training, I have a good eye for how people in systemically relevant professions are doing.

Having been active in bands and the cultural scene, I know how important culture is to people.

This industry is also systemically relevant, the glue of our society.

I am also an entrepreneur and employ a large number of people.

But I haven't forgotten that as an entrepreneur you have a social responsibility.

That's what I stand for.

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Dominik Wlazny in an interview with Johannes Pressler from BuzzFeed Austria.

© Johannes Pressler/BuzzFeed Austria

5. You yourself want to “be a moral guide,” says your election manifesto.

How can our readers imagine this in practice?

The office of Federal President gives a lot.

By that I don't mean the often negative aspects that the other candidates drag out - the dismissal of the government, for example.

A president is not there to overturn democratic election results, but to express a strong opinion.

When an injustice or a lapse occurs, it is necessary to speak up.

The word of the Federal President carries a lot of weight.

However, he does not have to collect it every day, otherwise it loses its importance.

6. So do you think that President Van der Bellen spoke too little during his term of office?

There were many situations in which I would have wished for clear words.

There were also many situations in which it was really quiet.

7. If you could choose any of the other six candidates to have a beer with, which one would you prefer?

After the "Im Zentrum" discussion round, none of them.

Well, Alexander Van der Bellen would be my favorite.

8. In a "Kronen Zeitung" interview, he said that he would "of course" go for a beer with you.

But nothing came of it, right?

Unfortunately, neither he nor anyone from his team contacted me.

I think that's a pity.

9. They want to be "an active leader who drives things forward."

However, the Federal President in Austria is dependent on proposals from the Federal Government or the responsible ministers.

Isn't the presidential election actually the wrong choice for your endeavour?

No, it's exactly the right choice.

I wish that there would be a truly independent Federal President who would act free of party-political squabbles and not only be able to carry out the usual representative tasks well, but who would fill the dignity of the office with values ​​and stand up for them clearly.

"A president is not there to reverse democratic election results, but to represent a strong opinion," says Wlazny.

© Eva Manhart/APA-PictureDesk

10. What is your favorite social media app to be on?

All have their advantages and disadvantages.

I would say Instagram.

11. Why?

Instagram is the most pleasant for my salvation, you don't have to read so much shit there.

12. It was also on social media when you first presented your latest poster campaign.

One of your demands is an aptitude test for ministers.

How would this go exactly?

The swearing-in is a direct competence of the Federal President.

I call it an aptitude test because I couldn't think of a better word.

But what I mean by that: An independent commission should decide whether this person is suitable for the office.

In any senior job in this country, you have to go through a multi-step process before you finally get into that position.

In the case of the former Minister Christine Aschbacher, for example, it was said: "Styria wanted someone." That can't be the suitability for a ministry post.

13. Are there certain ministers in the current government who you do not think are suitable for the post?

Herr Karner.

14. Why Gerhard Karner?

Two weeks ago, the Minister of the Interior publicly questioned the decisions of the independent judiciary, and in some ways even denied them.

That is not worthy of an interior minister.

According to Wlazny, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) is “not worthy” of his office.

© Martin Juen/SEPA.Media/APA-PictureDesk

15. A statement by Federal President Van der Bellen recently caused a stir.

Young people in Austria should "grit their teeth" in view of the rising prices.

What do you think of a statement like that?

I find that really weak.

Simply saying that they should "grit your teeth" - that cannot be the message to the young people of this country.

For me, this is outsourcing the problem.

It is the job of politicians to find people the best, fastest, most sustainable solutions.

That would have been a better answer.

The "grit your teeth" statement stunned me.

16. The future worries you the most, you said in a “press” interview.

So what is

message to young people in Austria?

I want to show that there are also politicians who listen to you.

I find those who dismiss a young climate movement as “truants” terrible.

The coming generations are our future, but politicians only think until the next election date.

What about 2030?

Should we just tell our children that now they have the stake?

We shouldn't wait until 2029 to think about that.

The only time I read anything from the government with 2040 was at the end of fully slatted floors - and at first I thought I misread it.

17. What is your favorite band?

rancid.

Always been.

"...And Out Come the Wolves" is an album I've been listening to since I was a teenager.

Now when I go to the subway, I hear Rancid.

That has never changed.

18. Even before you became a successful rock musician, you completed your medical studies while still working as a resident doctor.

What did you take away specifically from these areas that qualifies you for the office of Federal President?

I know the working environment in the hospital.

I know what the health workers do for all of us.

I can still remember 2020 well, when there was a lot of clapping.

But when it comes to real political appreciation, the clapping dies down very quickly.

People in these professions are still pissed off.

I can understand that very well.

I don't just come from a party academy and from the state council, federal council, national council to the candidate, but have done many different things.

That is irreplaceable.

This is my eligibility.

19. In an interview with the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" you said: "We don't have Long Covid, but Long ÖVP." Which drug can you recommend for treatment?

self-therapy.

Before everyone in the voting booth ticks the box, they should think carefully about which box to go in.

Anyone can do this for themselves, without a health certificate or prescription fee.

20. With the election approaching, how would you describe your current mood in an emoji?

[laughs]

With the biceps.

21. The forecasts of the last few weeks vary between five and 14 percent.

What is the election goal for October 9th?

To bring my topics into the discourse and to bring the things that are important to me into the public focus.

At the end of the day, I can't say what the percentage will be.

22. The Beer Party took part in the National Council elections in Vienna in 2019.

Will your party be on the ballot again in 2024?

I know my name will be on the ballot on October 9th.

That's my big goal.

Everything that comes after that will still show itself.