First of all, has anyone outside of Austria heard of Herbert Kickl? I have to admit that I had not, until I learned that he and his Freedom Party seem to be headed for a general election victory. And since I am writing this on the day of that election — the 29th — we may have those results before I publish.

However, it seems that even a victory over the opposing People’s Party won’t guarantee that he will be able to form a coalition, since — as so colorfully expressed by incumbent Chancellor Karl Nehammer of the People’s Party — “it is impossible to form a government with someone who adores conspiracy theories.”

Well, you know that got me digging into Mr. Kickl’s background in a hurry. And I have to be honest: he’s a scary guy. Aside from being described generally as “far right” (“far” anything worries me), and has been known to refer to himself as Volkskanzler (The People’s Chancellor).

— According to his biography on Wikipedia, his political positions include the following:

— In 2016, he was keynote speaker of the “Defenders of Europe” conference in Linz, which had been organized and was attended by far-right, antisemitic, and racist groups and individuals. He has since maintained ties with many of the same groups.

— In 2017, he stated that his goal in politics was to “make society more fair,” which he described as being “when one can support one’s family through gainful employment and live a self-determined life without ‘social dependence.”

— During the COVID-19 pandemic, he regularly attended and spoke at rallies alongside far-right activists, including neo-Nazi Gottfried Kussel.

— Kickl strongly opposes immigration, and feels that Islam has no place in Europe. His stated goal is to make it virtually impossible for anyone to apply for asylum in Austria. At the start of 2023, he launched a poster campaign with the slogan: “Fortress Austria – closed borders – security guaranteed.”

— He has suggested that Austria should withdraw from human rights agreements if they “prevent us from doing whaat is necessary,” saying that he believes “it is up to the law to follow politics, and not for politics to follow the law.”

And those are just his views on internal affairs. As to foreign policy . . . well, it just gets worse. He is a supporter of close relations between his party and Vladimir Putin’s United Russia. He has rejected criticism of Putin’s authoritarian policies, and says that sanctions imposed against Russia since the 2022 invasions of Ukraine constitute a violation of Austrian neutrality. He has opposed Austria’s acceptance of Ukrainian refugees, and in March of 2023, walked out of parliament during an address by Ukrainian President Zelensky.

I think you get the picture. If elected, and if his party is able to form the necessary coalition to lead Parliament, Herbert Kickl will take his place on the growing list of those Eastern and Central European leaders whose political policies are swinging ever closer to those of Vladimir Putin: most prominently, Aleksandr Lukashenko (Belarus), Viktor Orban (Hungary), and Robert Fico (Slovakia).

I’m afraid to ask, but I have to wonder: Who’s next?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/30/24

ELECTION RESULT: Not surprisingly, Herbert Kickl’s Freedom Party has secured the first far-right parliamentary election victory in Austria since World War II. Preliminary results showed his party finishing first with 29.2% of the vote; Chancellor Nehammer’s People’s Party second with 26..5%; and the center-left Social Democrats third with 21%. The second- and third-place parties say that they will not form the coalition needed by the Freedom Party in order for it to hold a parliamentary majority.

In a TV appearance following the announcement of the election results, Kickl said, “We don’t need to change our position, because we have always said that we’re ready to lead government, we’re ready to push forward this change in Austria side by side with the people. The other parties should ask themselves where they stand on democracy . . . [they should] sleep on the result.” [Associated Press, September 29, 2024.]

About 300 protesters gathered outside the Parliament building Sunday evening, carrying signs with anti-Freedom Party slogans. Some of them read, “Kickl is a Nazi.” [Id.]

Good luck, Austria. Without a clear majority in Parliament, life should be rather interesting, to say the very least.

9/29/24 – 11:39 p.m.