BRUNO KREISKY 1: Democracy Everywhere (with Kreisky Forum)

In June, Eugene got a call from Sabine, director of the Kreisky Forum, asking if I could make a tour for a group of peace-builders from Jerusalem (including Palestinians, LGBTQ, Ultraorthodox and Falashas), where they could hear about integration strategies in Vienna, and meet Turks, Bosnians and Syrians living and working here. An interesting challenge, which we accepted, and delivered a Bosnian architect, Turkish-Austrian Gymnasium teacher (she teaches my son German), and a young Iranian couple. It is a roxy mix, and we had great chat, coffee and stroll. The tour was delayed by three months, because of all the chaos in Middle East, to September 2025.

And now we continue the cooperation with Kreisky Forum, exploring the life and work of Bruno Kreisky, with a different theme each time. Starting with democracy, we focus on how he attempted to democratise so many aspects of Austrian life, but also who he was, how he worked, what inspired him, and all of the forces opposing him. This tour is sure to be popular, and we will seek reservations, once we have set up the admin system.

Bruno Kreisky's relevance in 2026

At a time when democracy is under pressure in many new ways, we present a walk through Vienna, showing how Bruno Kreisky offered solutions for our current problems. He was the most influential and respected leader of Austria’s second republic, and this storytelling tour will look at his life and work, and how he continues to influence our lives in Vienna in 2026.

This is part of a series of tours where we - Kreisky Forum and Whoosh - will show just how relevant his ideas are. So who was he, where did he come from, and why is there a rock band named after him? Why was his name and number in the telephone book?

He brought international influence to Austria, attracting both OPEC and UN to our home city, and thought differently to those around him.

Our critical urban adventure will visit his school, park, Vorwärtshaus, OPEC, Café Landtmann where some of the gossip and press conferences emerged from, and look at his relationship with contemporaries like Johanna Dohnal, Simon Wiesenthal and Helmut Schmidt.

DEUTSCH VERSION

In einer Zeit, in der die Demokratie auf vielfältige Weise unter Druck steht, präsentieren wir einen Spaziergang durch Wien, der zeigt, wie Bruno Kreisky Lösungen für unsere aktuellen Probleme angeboten hat. Er war der einflussreichste und angesehenste Führer der Zweiten Republik Österreichs. Diese Storytelling-Tour befasst sich mit seinem Leben und Werk und damit, wie er auch im Jahr 2026 unser Leben in Wien beeinflusst.

Dies ist Teil einer Reihe von Touren, bei denen wir – das Kreisky Forum und Whoosh – zeigen werden, wie relevant seine Ideen sind. Wer war er, woher kam er und warum gibt es eine Rockband, die nach ihm benannt ist? Warum standen sein Name und seine Telefonnummer im Telefonbuch?

Er verschaffte Österreich internationalen Einfluss, holte sowohl die OPEC als auch die UNO in unsere Heimatstadt und dachte anders als seine Mitmenschen.

Unsere kritische Stadttour führt uns zu seiner Schule, seinem Park, dem Vorwärtshaus und dem Café Landtmann, wo einige der Klatschgeschichten und Pressekonferenzen ihren Ursprung hatten, und wir werden uns seine Beziehung zu Zeitgenossen wie Johanna Dohnal, Simon Wiesenthal und Helmut Schmidt ansehen.