The immediate cause of the demonstration was Chancellor Schallenberg’s announcement last week that there is an obligation to vaccinate everyone, and that Austria will enter lockdown from Monday, the fourth since the start of the Corona pandemic.

The right-wing political party FPÖ called the demonstration in part. And the leader of this party, Herbert Kekel, was unable to participate in the demonstration because of Corona, but he remained there via a video message. He called for widespread resistance. He had previously been very critical of the government and spoke of a dictatorship in Austria.

neonazi

Also among the demonstrators were neo-Nazis known to the authorities and members of other right-wing groups.

The Austrian government decided last week that the country would be closed for at least ten days and a maximum of twenty days from Monday. In addition, all Austrians must have been vaccinated by February 1. The 2G rule has also been introduced, which means that people who have not been vaccinated can move less freely.

The government is taking measures due to the high number of infections. Today, there have been 15,000 new positive cases, out of a population of just under nine million. For comparison: in the Netherlands there were nearly 22,000 infections as of this morning, with a population nearly twice that of Austria.

With the upcoming lockdown approaching, many Austrians have taken the opportunity to go shopping today. Inland cities and shopping centers were filled. From Monday, people are only allowed to leave the house for essentials.