Linz was the capital of cabaret for two days

For two days, Linz felt like the hub of the German-speaking cabaret world. On Saturday, Mathias Tretter, Dominic Deville and Marina Lackovic alias Malarina were awarded the renowned “Salzburger Stier” as the best cabaret artists in Germany, Switzerland and Austria in the Posthof – and showed how diverse but also relevant contemporary cabaret can be. The day before, Josef Hader and Otto Lechner had opened the cabaret forum. The satire festival was organized by Ö1 with stations from Germany, Switzerland and South Tyrol, some of which broadcast the evenings live. The prize, which is endowed with 6,000 euros, has existed since 1982 and is awarded alternately in one of the four countries.

Before the award winners received their trophies from moderator Gery Seidl, they played excerpts from their current programs. Dominic Deville, who made a name for himself with such diverse professions as kindergarten teacher, punk rocker or late-night show presenter, made the start. In Linz, the Swiss, who lives in Zurich, surprised the audience with punchlines about the speech that FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl had held on May 1st at the Urfahraner Markt.

Deville commented on his ambitions to become “people’s chancellor”: “Just because you once had a teenager as chancellor, it doesn’t have to be a goblin.” And to the complaint of Governor Deputy. Manfred Haimbuchner, according to which Upper Austria had ordered 100 police officers and received 400 asylum seekers, he remarked: “Somebody must have filled out the order form.”

Malarina, daughter of Serbian guest workers, scrutinized Austrian-Serbian relations with bitter anger. With the era of Jörg Haider, it had become really difficult for the Serbs in Austria. But: “The Serbs survived Haider. He didn’t.” Heinz-Christian Strache, on the other hand, was a Serb friend: “He knew what Tschuschen needed. He was the Tschuschen whisperer.”

Mathias Tretter, who, as a student in Würzburg, was one of the cabaret savages, touched on numerous topics, such as politics: “The SPD used to be the party of the little man. Now it’s the party of the least evil.” And about China, where the corona virus was probably first transmitted on a market, he said: “The Chinese can’t manage hygiene in the markets. And I thought they were the leaders in cleansing.”

At the end there were two “bulls of honor” – for moderator Seidl and the Posthof team.