Christian Kern - A Portrait
By courtesy of zeit.de
To describe the newly appointed Chancellor of Austria, the press frequently used the words “very well dressed” and “highly charismatic”. Now, almost 6 months in office, it seems like the first excitement slackened down a bit and the earlier frustration about politicians took its place again. But let’s see behind the curtain. Who is this Christian Kern that Europe is talking about? Austria’s Social Democratic Party’s new hope or another guy to waste our hard earned taxes?
Here are some facts. Christian Kern was born in 1966 in the 11th Viennese district, a district which was, and still is today, not very wealthy, mostly workers live there. His father an electrician, his mother a secretary, he soon began to get involved in political issues to improve the workers' situation.
He studied journalism and communication science at the University of Vienna where he joined the socialist student council. After his graduation in St. Gallen, Switzerland, he worked as an economic journalist, then changed to be the assistant of state secretary Peter Kostelka, until in 1997, he changed to Austria’s largest energy provider and worked himself up to the top. From 2010 until May of this year he was the head of the Austrian railway company to then become the new Chancellor.
He has shown talent in finding solution for economical challenges. When taking over the ÖBB (Austrian railway company) in 2010, he faced a hard damaged company with a horrible reputation. By putting an end to ÖBB's infamous early retirements and overall modernizing the Austrian railway system, he brought the company back to the top. During last year’s refugee wave he showed strong devotion and supported the aid organizations, which were built up at the capital’s biggest railways stations. He ordered trains to bring refugees from the Hungarian border to Germany. At this point he got the public’s attention, proved himself to be active and determined, not only in business.
But what to expect from him since he is not a political native? Shortly after his appointment to Chancellor of Austria, he positioned himself on the left wing of the old Social Democratic Party and so distanced himself from his predecessor Werner Faymann, who didn’t quite know where to stand and preferred listening to those secretly leading the party, like the iconic mayor of Vienna. This happened to the joy of young voters, but to the discomfort of a lot of his party colleagues, who traditionally rather focus on future elections and not on what would be right for the country.
He has shown strength and character when asked to give concrete and simple answers (greatly differing from former Chancellors) - another point, which increased his popularity amongst the population. He is devoted to fight against the uprising right-wing extremists in Austria, an issue, which seems more pressuring than ever and which must not to be ignored or underestimated. Many Austrians expect him to be the last chance for Social Democrats to secure their share of the coalition, especially in the face of an almost definite change in the government after the 2018 elections. Only 11% of the population are currently in favor of a continued grand coalition. A shift to the left or to the right? Kern's success in office will definitely determine the composition of the next government.
He is criticized by his conservative coalition-partners, cursed by the right-wing party, highly supported by others.
As discussed as he is, one is for sure; he brought some fresh air into the old rooms of our parliament. His greatest task now is to use this fresh air and really do make a change, because we know, he can.
