If “Grüss Gott” – “God greets you” – still dominates in this very mostly Catholic country, just as in the regions of southern Germany, the formula is not completely consensual.
by Jean-Baptiste Chastand (Vienne, regional correspondent)
French travelers on the move in Austria often know that they will have to replace the “Guten Tag” (“hello”) that they learned in their German course by a “Grüss Gott”, short form of “God greets you”. But if this traditional civility still dominates in this very mostly Catholic country, just as in the regions of southern Germany, it is not completely consensual, as a controversy came to remind it that rocked Austria current December 2022.
Everything started from the room of a parliamentary commission of inquiry where an elected representative of the ÖVP (People’s Party of Austria, conservative) returned by greeting the assistance of a very traditional “Grüss Gott”. An elected official from the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPö), currently in the opposition, would have immediately replied: “In Vienna, we say” Guten Tag “.” This biscil could have gone unnoticed if the ÖVP had Not then decided to send a press release to denounce “the lack of sensitivity for this country and its inhabitants” of this deputy who “would like to prohibit the formula” Grüss Gott “”.
Because the choice of words is much more political than it seems. For many Austrians on the left and rather secular, the reference to God has not always been accepted. A daily article der Standard recalls that during the interwar period, the “Grüss Gott” was the prerogative of the Christian conservatives, very majority in the mountains, while the “Guten Tag” was Definitely a Viennese pride, the capital which has almost always been governed by the Social Democrats, which earned it the nickname “Vienne la Rouge”. By correcting the elected conservative who came from the provinces, the Viennese socialist deputy was clearly a heir to this tradition.
the youngest favor the most neutral “Hallo”
But Austria is nevertheless less divided today than during the 1930s when the two camps even torn apart during a civil war in 1934. In reality, the use of “Grüss Gott” S ‘ is now largely imposed, including among “reds” who often see it as a way of differentiating from Germany German. According to a survey commissioned by the daily Kurier following this controversy, 72 % of Austrians claim to use this formula in everyday life, against only 25 % for “Guten Tag”. “Grüss Gott” is also a very majority in spö voters (66 %), even if it is much lower than in those of ÖVP (85 %).
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