Carinthia commemorates 1920 vote with calls to defend democracy

Carinthia marked the 1920 referendum and the preceding defensive struggle on Saturday, with speakers calling for the protection of democracy. The official ceremonies began at Annabichl cemetery, where wreaths were laid at the war dead memorial, before a bilingual state ceremony at the Landhaushof in Klagenfurt, ORF reported.

The ceremony was held in German and Slovenian, as in recent years. Traditional associations and the military band took part, while choirs and musical groups provided music. Many of the guests at the well-attended event wore traditional dress.

For Carinthian parliament president Andreas Scherwitzl, it was his first October 10 ceremony in the role. Speaking partly in Slovenian, he remembered those who died in the defensive struggle on both sides and said German- and Slovenian-speaking Carinthians had voted for the unity of the state in the referendum.

“Love of one’s homeland is not nationalism, and nationalism is not love of one’s homeland,” Scherwitzl said. He added that treating one people as superior to another continued the “wrong path” of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Klagenfurt Mayor Christian Scheider said remembering the past should guide the present and future. He again called for recognition of the German-speaking minority in Slovenia and described Carinthia as a hub in the Alpine-Adriatic region. He also rejected calls to dismiss attachment to one’s homeland as outdated.

Governor Daniel Fellner, making his first October 10 speech since taking office, paid tribute to the defensive fighters and their contribution to Carinthia and democracy. He said protecting democracy was a duty and warned of social division, populism, disinformation, loss of trust, political extremism and the erosion of norms.

Guests included former governors Peter Kaiser and Gerhard Dörfler, Slovenia’s consul general Maja Balant Slobodjanac, Austria’s ambassador to Slovenia Marko Štucin, and the heads of all three Slovenian associations.