Trump, Gusenbauer, and other flawless democrats
A ‘Hapsburg Group’ has been lobbying for the fugitive Ukrainian President Yanukovych. The story came to light in the course of investigations into Russian contacts within US President Donald Trump’s team. Former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer is allegedly involved. Meanwhile, in Austria, an anonymous complaint has been filed regarding the legal notice on my homepage. A commentary by Karl von Habsburg.
Life writes the best satires. They simply cannot be invented. One such satire is the anonymous complaint against me because I not only call my homepage karlvonhabsburg.at but also use the name Karl von Habsburg in the legal notice. A violation of the Nobility Abolition Act of 1919. The domain is www.karlvonhabsburg.at; ‘www’ stands for the World Wide Web. In the 21st century, in the year 2018, 99 years after 1919, a 99-year-old law of the Republic of Austria is supposed to apply to the World Wide Web—something no one would have dared dream of 99 years ago. Given my family history, nothing is further from my mind than wanting to diminish the importance of Austria. However, why a 99-year-old law, perhaps explainable by the turmoil of the Republic’s founding, should apply to the global internet today is something not even the anonymous informant can justify.
A few days ago, the new Federal Ministries Act came into force in Austria, creating a ‘Federal Ministry for Digitalisation and Business Location’. Yet, a world-famous name in the legal notice of a website is supposedly a legal violation. The material for political cabaret is unlikely to run out.
A second story was unearthed by the investigations into Russian connections within the team of US President Donald Trump. According to these, Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, financed a group that conducted lobbying for Ukraine. Now, advocating for Ukraine is fundamentally nothing bad; on the contrary. Ukraine is a European country where, more than five years ago, the Revolution of Dignity put a stop to a return to tutelage by Moscow. More than 100 people gave their lives for this. As the ‘Heavenly Hundred’, they are remembered for their commitment to Europe. And a few days ago, upon my proposal, this Heavenly Hundred was awarded the ‘Coudenhove-Kalergi European Prize’.
However, the group financed via Manafort, according to US investigations, lobbied for the very president responsible for the return to Russian guardianship. Viktor Yanukovych, an old communist who then fled to Russia—according to various reports—with crates full of money. The name of former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer repeatedly appears in reports about this group.
Now, it would not be the first time that former politicians have become active in the field of lobbying. Alongside Gusenbauer, the name of former EU Commission President Romano Prodi is also mentioned. The joke of the story is that the group called itself the ‘Hapsburg Group’.
It is well known that there is a persistent misspelling of my name in the English language. When a group lobbying for an old communist adopts the name ‘Hapsburg’, it falls under brutal disinformation through the misuse of a name.
On the other hand, I almost have to take this naming as a compliment. Indisputably, the name Habsburg is very positively associated with Ukraine, and vice versa. There is the historical element of Ukraine’s recent history after the First World War. There is Archduke Wilhelm, well known in Ukraine, who campaigned vigorously for the country and was subsequently abducted and put to death by the Soviet Union. That I am personally involved in and for Ukraine—including with the radio station Radio Kraina—is also well known. For communists, however—and this will remain so in the future—no Habsburg has ever campaigned. That falls rather within the remit of ‘flawless democrats’.
The article originally appeared on the website of Karl von Habsburg.
