The deep roots of the extreme right, which is the favorite, and the awkward EU

As the center-right Chancellor (ÖVP) of Austria When Karl Nehammer chooses “Security in Vienna” as the central campaign slogan, you notice that the opponent is coming from the right. “Have the courage to try something new,” recommends the right-wing extremist Freedom Party (FPÖ). And as polls show, Austrians seem willing to give it a try.

To Election on Sunday 6.3 million Austrians are called to vote. If the predictions come true, about 27-29% of them will vote for his far-right party Herbert Kicklea real populist politician who goes to the polls with an “Austria first” agenda: immigration, precision, the war in Ukraine, Russian energy. Sharp language, easy to understand, full of slogans and emotional arguments. Finally, Mr. Kickl worked alongside him as a talented logographer Jörg Haider“historic” leader of the FPÖ in the 2000s.

According to the latest opinion polls, the Chancellor’s People’s Party (ÖVP) is in second place with 23-25%, followed by the Socialist Party (SPÖ) with 20-21%. The NEOS Liberals achieved between 8 and 11% and the co-governing Greens achieved between 8 and 10%. If the FPÖ ends up taking first place, it would be a historic victory for post-war Austria, which will inevitably attract more international attention than its famous opera house, cafes and ski slopes probably deserve.

The People’s Party is a long way from the 37.5 percent that Sebastian Kurz achieved in 2019. And Sebastian Kurz Of course, this is a far cry from the situation at the time, as he has now left politics and is being sued in two cases. Karl Neuhammer’s inability to deliver to the party after his predecessor’s scandals, as well as the repeated crises of the pandemic and war in Ukraine – and even the recent floods – have led to a dramatic decline in numbers. On the contrary, despite its own scandals, even the “Ibiza gateWith the FPÖ, which catapulted her out of government in 2019, she succeeds in gathering dissatisfied voters from all camps, with Herbert Kickl presenting himself as anti-systemic and enemy of the establishment. “The former major parties are approaching the end of their world without worry (…). In fact, they have come to terms with the idea of ​​the FPÖ in the first place and are doing a lot to minimize their own chances,” political scientist Thomas Hoffer recently wrote in the newspaper “Der Standard”. A similar picture emerged in the European elections. The People’s Party lost 10 points “and was probably content with not being in third place,” said Hofer, who pointed out, among other things, that “the feeling that the FPÖ is currently invincible also serves as an excuse for the party. “poor performance of others”.

– The controversial Herbert Kickle –

But even if he wins the elections FPÖHerbert Kickle is unlikely to become chancellor. With his at least controversial statements in recent years, he has managed not to get anyone to approach him politically. “The Asylum seekers “From now on, everyone has to gather in one place,” he said, referring to immigration, which was interpreted as an indirect reference to concentration camps, while the statements “More courage for our Viennese blood – many foreigners do nothing to anyone.” probably no interpretation, as well as his position that “laws should follow politics, not politics follow laws” and that immigrants should be deported even without legal proceedings. In this sense, during his term as Interior Minister, he stated that human rights treaties “prevent us from doing what we should do”.

The recent events with the cancellation of their concerts Taylor Swift In Vienna it was just more grist for the mill due to the Islamist threat and the Bosnian-born Austrian who was found armed in front of the Israeli consulate in Munich. In the run-up to the election, Herbert Kickl also made sure to “wipe out” everything that was still to the right of him by “taking over” Martin Zellner’s “identity movement,” which he described as “an interesting endeavor worth supporting” and a “non-socialist movement “ referred to. government organization”. No matter how Mr. Kickl sees him, o Martin Zellner is a leading figure of neo-Nazi activism in Europe, the initiator of the “Madagascar plan” (for the forcible deportation of millions of immigrants to a country that will accept them and receive financial compensation for this), which, as it turned out, he discussed before a year ago with German like-minded people from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) at a secret meeting in Brandenburg. He has now been banned from entering Germany.

Of course, Mr. Kickl also supports him Vladimir Putinbut also the continuation of energy supplies from Russia. In March 2022, he said both sides were responsible for the war in Ukraine and that the sanctions imposed on Russia were a violation of Austria’s neutrality, which he resented for the withdrawal of Russian funds. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke to the Austrian Parliament, Herbert Kickl demonstratively left the hall.

His stance is consistently part of an effort to “sell” himself as anti-systemic. The popular and widely recognized “green” president of Austria, Alexander van der Bellen, has even stated that he would not agree to be sworn in as chancellor. Since Karl Nehammer has also stated that he has no intention of working with him, many in Vienna are already talking about the “Dutch model,” in which the first party governs but its leader stays out of the government. Another possibility is a coalition of the People’s Party with NEOS and the Socialists, although the rather failed German experiment of a three-party government, which is said to have ultimately favored the extremes, raises serious reservations.

– The deep roots of the Austrian far right and the embarrassed EU –

However, the FPÖ is not the AfD, which was founded in 2013 and has long been searching for its identity and agenda in the midst of the economic, immigration crisis and the pandemic. The Austrian right-wing extremist movement is deeply rooted in the country’s politics. It was founded immediately after the Second World War and its first two leaders were themselves (former) Nazis and high-ranking officers of Himmler’s SS. Georg Haider’s parents were members of the NSDAP and he never missed an opportunity to praise Hitler – mostly for his economic policies. Despite its subsequent split, the extreme right in Austria has never lost its audience and has also found a privileged field in the pandemic, immigration and policy towards Russia.

It has been 24 years since Austria made – negative – history in the European Union, when Gerg Haider’s FPÖ joined Wolfgang Sissel’s ÖVP government as a junior partner. Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said at the time that “the EU can do without Austria,” Israel withdrew its ambassador from Vienna, France and Denmark canceled bilateral meetings and the European Parliament imposed a “quarantine” and a strict surveillance regime in Austria. And the institutional vacuum and weaknesses at the EU level may have been highlighted at the time, but some Europeans were prescient: “Europe must know that if Haider wins a seat in government, the…” extreme right it will cease to be something monstrous. And that will be a very serious precedent,” Louis Michel declared at the time and we have been watching his confirmation in recent years.

Polls on Sunday will close at 5:00 p.m. (local time) when the first estimate of the result will be announced.

Source: RES-MPE

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