Ferdinand Kronawetter (26 February 1838 – 20 January 1913) was an Austrian left-liberal politician, an advocate for democracy and workers' rights, and a vocal opponent of antisemitism.

Kronawetter resigned his mandate in 1882, was re-elected in 1885, and appeared alongside Engelbert Pernerstorfer as a representative of the workers' movement on the Imperial Council.

[2] The first known usage of the phrase by Kronawetter was in a speech at an April, 1889, general meeting of the Margarethen District Electoral Association in Vienna.

We are none of these, but neither are we the boot-polishers of Liechtenstein, slaves to priests, or hypocrites who, as democrats, lie prostrate and swivel-eyed as we receive the telegraphed blessing of the Pope.

Antisemitism is nothing but the socialism of the idiot of Vienna (loud laughter) – for what reasonable person can believe that the future will be better if people are led back into the darkness of the Middle Ages?