1986: "Die Zeit ist einsam" – Timna Brauer

‘Time is lonely and tired’ („Die Zeit ist einsam und sie ist müde“). These lyrics open Austria's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in Bergen, Norway, on May 3rd, 1986. The melancholic ballad is performed by 25-year-old Timna Brauer. Selected in an internal decision by the ORF, she takes to the stage at a time of political turbulence. One day after the song contest, presidential elections are held in Austria. The favourite in the race for the highest office in the state is Kurt Waldheim. His Nazi past comes to light during the election campaign and causes national and international debate. Austria's self-image as the first victim of National Socialism is shaken.

Brauer's lyrics can be read as a reflection of the mood against the backdrop of the Waldheim affair. Austria feels ‘lonely’ and marginalised by the international community. The poor ranking (the entry finishes third from last) is attributed to the ‘anti-Austrian’ attitude in the rest of Europe. However, Austria struggled with poor results long before 1986. After Udo Jürgens' victory in 1966, only two entries made it into the top 5. In the media, however, the blame for the mediocre results was mostly placed on others, such as the jurors (‘Abolish the scoring system’, Kronen Zeitung 1986), or the entire competition was called into question and the rankings were dismissed as a ‘lottery’ (Kronen Zeitung, 1987). Taking responsibility is difficult here as well. The argumentative strategies used to maintain Austria's victim role seem to be reflected in the comments and reports on the ESC.