Politics is a game, at home and abroad

Graz, Austria – Some things are the same everywhere you go.

Kids complain about bedtimes both in the United States and in Austria. Politics are, well, political in both places.

The recent political debates and campaigning for European Union parliament seats feel strangely familiar to election “games” played in the States.

And while the only thing I really miss from home is unlimited texting (sorry, Mom), I think I have truly missed hardcore politics since the advertisements stopped running this past November.

I have witnessed some big news in my years – the counting of chads, Bush, the Patriot Act, war, Obama – and though the fights between right and left have never really surprised me, they have been increasingly boring.

Perhaps that is why I am fascinated with the bargaining chips in Austria. All parties are against genetically modified foods – a fight that has never seriously been used in U.S. politics.

Abortion is not even on the table here. Income taxes are 50 percent for some citizens, though I have yet to hear any campaigning party mention tax cuts.

Then, of course, there is the sheer number of parties running that interests me. They come from all points on the political spectrum, with every one from the Green Party to the Communist Party campaigning in town squares.

A recent walk through the city of Graz scored me free gummy bears from a communist campaigner (are those safe?), a cookbook from the Freedom Party and an umbrella from the Social Democrats. They are all legitimately running parties, all with probable chances.

It has been great fun collecting campaign goodies, but even more fun watching people discuss their parties. I found myself asking, how can there be so many different parties, all thinking they can win?

But then again, it is not all that different in the States – there are just as many differing opinions. The only real difference is at election time when people rush to their side of the single aisle: Republican or Democrat. The argument here is that no other party would have a chance at winning.

What a shame, when Austrians are so optimistic.

“Your system is perhaps more efficient,” my Austrian friend Christian said. “But with our system, there is a party for everyone.”

A party for everyone seems nice. It even seems more democratic. Everyone gets a piece of the pie, both with the large number of social programs in Europe and with every party having a chance to win seats.

Yet with unemployment at about 8 percent – roughly the same as the States – and with a calculated high standard of living – also similar to the States – perhaps both the American system and the Austrian system reach the same end.

Perhaps politics and party stances are always just games, whether between two teams or many.