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The New York Times on Friday published a glowing profile of Elke Kahr, a communist politician in Austria, with almost no criticism. “Yes, this communist politician in Graz, Austria, wants to redistribute wealth, but a focus on housing, her own humble lifestyle, and a tough childhood helped her popularity,” the article’s subtitle reads.
Kahr was elected mayor of Graz, Austria’s second largest city, in September and is leader of the country’s Communist Party. The Times’ Denise Hruby reported that Kahr “smiles” that her city is now being referred to as “Leningraz,” and she affirmed, “Yes, 100 percent, I’m a staunch Marxist.”
“Supporters and critics alike describe her as approachable, enjoyable, and purposeful. Voters often praise her for being ‘not like a politician’ but more like a social worker,” Hruby reported.
Kahr’s work on housing was given special prominence, beginning with an emergency phone number for tenants at the end of the Cold War. “Rich and poor, left and right, called, and word of mouth spread: the communists care,” The Times continued.
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VIENNA, AUSTRIA – OCTOBER 25: The flag of Austria is seen before the meeting between King Abdullah of Jordan and Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen at Hofburg Palace on October 25, 2021 in Vienna, Austria. (Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images)
The Times described the communist mayor as someone “trying to be a familiar presence on city streets”.
It was also reported, “During her political career, she gave away about three-quarters of her after-tax salary.”
Only at the end was there any criticism of the play.
“Often the criticism does not spring from Ms. Kahr’s work, but from her unabashed adoption of ideology,” Hruby wrote. “Your admiration, for example, for the former Yugoslavia, a multi-ethnic and non-aligned state led by a dictator, is evidence of ‘historical stubbornness’, said Christian Fleck, sociology professor at the University of Graz.”
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FILE – People walk behind a red banner with hammer and sickle symbols during a May Day rally in Istanbul, Turkey, May 1, 2016. (Portal/Murad Sezer)
“But voters don’t seem to care as their approval rating was 65 percent in June,” Hruby wrote.
“Ms. Kahr put on a cigarette, a vice she cannot give up, and reflected on why communism has failed elsewhere,” the profile reported.
“That depends,” says Hruby, “whether the leaders live by it.”
The New York Times building (iStock)
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The article ended on this upbeat note about a communist, without any historical reference to the more than a hundred million people communism killed in the 20th century, or the millions it oppressed.
Joe Silverstein is a production assistant at Fox News Digital.