Austria’s ‘beer party’ is flying in the polls with hilarious booze policies

An odd political party is taking Austria by storm thanks to its policies on alcohol.

The ‘Beer Party’, founded by Dominik Wlazny in 2015 initially as a joke, is now polling at 12 per cent ahead of the Vienna state election after promising voters a beer fountain in the capital city Vienna and an allocation of one barrel of beer per household per month.

This means they would come third if there was an election today.

As well as a fountain, they say they would a 50 per cent tax on Radlers – beer crafted with juice – and launch a Radler buyback programme that allows punters to exchange Radler beers with “real beer”.

It also wants to create a gastronomy network to encourage better relations between local restauranteurs and local politics, the abolition of mandatory closing times for bars and restaurants and a “live and let” philosophy, except for Radler drinkers.

On a more serious note, the party has advocated for investment in Vienna's public transport and sports facilities and has recently adopted a progressive stance on trans rights and the environment, also calling for the safe housing of Ukrainian refugees in Austria.

The party has even attracted some support in the UK. Speaking to City A.M, Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin said: “Wetherspoon applauds the efforts of the Beer Party.

“We feel there is ample room for a similar party in the UK. However, Wetherspoon has a conflict of interest, since we’ve long supported the Monster Raving Loony Party and, in particular, its esteemed leader Alan ‘Howling Laud’ Hope. We long for the day when the Loonies are top of the polls, with the Beer-boys a close second!”

Cheers to that!

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