The 140th foundation festival of the Leder fraternity had already caused heated debates in advance. After renting the congress to the fraternity, the city of Leoben took action. A taxi ride ended with charges filed against three of the guests.
Archive image. GEORG HOCHMUTH
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A complaint about assault on a taxi driver in Leoben, Upper Styria, is causing a political stir: According to a report in the “Standard” from the weekend, the taxi driver is said to have been attacked by three fraternity members on the night from Friday to Saturday. The police confirmed an investigation, but have not yet given any details. Hundreds of corporate members from Austria and Germany were in Leoben at the weekend for the 140th foundation festival of the Leder fraternity.
The guest speaker was the controversial German Bundestag member Matthias Helferich. According to “Standard” research, the 57-year-old taxi driver is said to have asked two passengers to get out after they shouted “Sieg Heil”. The Styria State Police Directorate also confirmed the existing suspicion. The situation is said to have escalated afterwards. The taxi driver is said to have been racially abused on the street. Because he wanted to hold the suspects until the police arrived, he followed them. He is then said to have been beaten to the ground by three men. “These are the information provided by the victim,” said police spokesman Fritz Grundnig. These would now be checked. The Leoben police station and the State Office for State Security and Combating Extremism (LSE) are investigating suspicions of bodily harm and suspicion of Nazi re-activation.
The Rectorate of the Montanuni Leoben had already publicly distanced itself from the Leder fraternity, the Festkommers and Helferich before the event. The two-day festival did not take place on the university premises, but in the congress center of the city of Leoben. On Monday, the university followed up and excluded the Leder fraternity from upcoming events Montanuniversity Leoben out of. “The Montanuniversität Leoben continues to cooperate with those clubs, connections and institutions that demonstrably and continuously commit to our values. At the same time, we ensure an institutional distance from actors who contradict these values,” it said in a press release.
Furthermore, the university wants to exhaust all legal and organizational options to protect its values - academic freedom, democracy, human dignity, internationality and mutual respect. Together with the ÖH Leoben, prevention and awareness-raising against extremism, discrimination and intolerance should be further strengthened. In the event of violations, clear sanctions should be imposed. “The Rectorate will not allow mining and smelting customs, which are part of the identity of the Montanuniversität Leoben, to be ideologically appropriated and abused. It will continue to be maintained in the spirit of openness, respect and cohesion.”
Leoben’s mayor Kurt Wallner (SPÖ) condemned the incidents on Monday and expressed solidarity with the affected taxi driver. Wallner said: “Political extremism has no place in Leoben.” It is now the task of the police and the responsible authorities to fully investigate the incidents. “I have full confidence in the work of the police, the judiciary and the institutions of our constitutional state. Especially when it comes to protecting our democracy, clear procedures, clear responsibility and clear consequences are needed.”
Wallner said that such incidents would damage the “image of our city”. “But they don’t represent Leoben. Leoben is a peaceful, open and diverse city. People from more than 90 nations live together here. This international character is a great value – supported by the Montanuniversity, our companies and the daily coexistence in the city. We will not let political extremists damage this coexistence,” emphasized Wallner.
According to the mayor, the Oberlandler Kirchtag, which was also celebrated at the weekend, is being held by a recognized and deserving association. The church day is a popular traditional festival, supported by honorable personalities from the city and the country. The organizers are not to blame. “Due to the public appearance of the Leder fraternity, there was a risk that this festival would be taken over. That is not acceptable.” The city of Leoben is now drawing conclusions from this: “In the future, there will be no rental of city premises to the Leder fraternity or to other political extremist organizations.”
The Socialist Youth Austria announced on Monday: “The incidents surrounding the Leder fraternity show once again that German national fraternities are not harmless traditional clubs, but right-wing extremist networks. Anyone who offers a politician like Matthias Helferich a stage and is associated with racist attacks and brutal violence a few hours beforehand not only damages the reputation of the Montanuniversity, but also tramples on our basic democratic values,” explains the chairwoman, Larissa Zivkovic, in a broadcast.
She made an appeal to the federal government: “For years, German national fraternities at Austrian universities have been making headlines with right-wing extremist incidents, without the responsible ministries drawing the necessary conclusions. Looking the other way and appeasing is no longer enough. The federal government and Science Minister (Eva-Maria; note) Holzleitner must finally act and, together with the universities, ensure that right-wing extremist networks have no place at our universities.”
The Leoben Green Party councilor Susanne Sinz welcomed the city’s consequences and now pushed for clear rules for public spaces and funding. “Leoben is a city of coexistence, university, work and diversity. We will not allow this image to be damaged by those who want to normalize right-wing extremist networks under the guise of tradition.”
When asked by the APA, the police said that there had been no documented incidents at the fraternity’s celebration event or at the Oberlandler Kirtag. At both events, the police were increasingly deployed in both uniforms and civilian clothing. The fraternity’s festive event in particular was monitored.
An incident involving a person taking photographs in the area surrounding the Styrian FPÖ club chairman Marco Triller is currently being investigated, according to the police. When asked by the APA, the club chairman’s office said that there had been a verbal argument with the person who wanted to take photos of Triller at the fair, which had resulted in a scuffle. One person is believed to have suffered a scratch injury. (APA)
