The Beer Party will not participate in any future elections. This was announced by the party on Monday afternoon in a press release and by party founder Dominik Wlazny himself in a YouTube video. They are closing the chapter as a political party "in the traditional sense" and now want to continue "differently," said the musician, without being too specific. It is certain that the party now has no more members - but they still want to make a "contribution" in Austria.

Vienna Election Without Beer Party

"The Beer Party will not run in the upcoming election in Vienna, nor in any other election," Wlazny said in a statement published on YouTube. "We are closing the chapter as a political party in the traditional sense, and we are moving on differently. Back to the roots, so to speak," said the musician of the band "Turbobier". "We remain critical, as we always have been, we remain vigilant, and this is especially necessary in times like these."

We now see ourselves as an "association that puts their heads together and takes a critical look at things," said Wlazny. "Loose, relaxed, but no less loud. Because we still want to contribute to critical thinking in Austria." From 2025, the Beer Party will no longer have any members, and you can no longer become a member of the Beer Party, he said. All memberships from 2024 were only concluded for one year, according to the Beer Party website.

Membership Fees and Donations

It also explains what happened to the membership fees and donations collected by the Beer Party before their candidacy in the 2024 National Council election. The entire budget was spent on "building, organisation, campaign, press coordination, meetings, rallies, press conferences, tour", on employees and the security of the website. The election campaign cost reimbursement would be used to pay further outstanding bills from the election campaign and the establishment of the party.

Wlazny hopes "that all old members will remain connected to us in their hearts and continue to feel affiliated with our association". With this, he wants to continue to be "sometimes the thorn in the flesh". Being political and expressing oneself "when something is going wrong somewhere" is not tied to a mandate. The Vienna district councillors of the Beer Party are to fulfil their duties until the end of the legislative period.

"Really Smart Things"

Wlazny spoke of "five years of Vienna district politics", where they have done "really smart things". In addition, in eight months they have built a "parliament-ready" party from scratch, he referred to the candidacy in the 2024, where the Beer Party clearly failed to enter the National Council with 2 percent of the votes. The biggest success was probably the 8.3 percent in the 2022, which Wlazny himself was able to achieve as a presidential candidate.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article .