Vienna, May 22, 2014
During the TV debates, the top candidate from the Social Democratic Party Martin Schulz said that the public sphere should be “neutral” and there was no space for religious symbols there. Opponents from Christian Social Union and Christian Democratic Union have sharply criticized his statement, thus raising one of the issues of self-determination of the European Union—the Christian Cross.
Schulz sees “a risk of conservative movement backwards” in Europe and is calling to struggle with it.
Secretary General of Christian Social Union Andreas Scheuer has described as “a serious mistake” Schulz’s call for “neutralization” of public places and his idea that “the Christian cross may pose a threat to religious tolerance in Europe.” “By his statements, Schulz has demonstrated his true idea of Europe without roots and coordinates, a Europe of intellectual lawlessness and bureaucratic intervention,” said Scheuer.
Austrian politicians have supported the position of Christian Social Union members. The candidate from the Social Democratic Party Eugen Freund, and from the Austrian People's party Othmar Karas have called to “clearly distance oneself from Schulz’s statements”.
The Austrian Green and the NEOS (the New Austria) parties consider that decisions regarding the presence of crosses in public places should be made by agreement with those who spend most of their time there: if this is a school, then it should be done with involvement of teachers, students, and parents.
Schulz himself in the end said that his statements were wrongly interpreted. He believes that decisions on the presence of religious symbols in public space must be made nationally and regionally.
