Austria: Okamura’s allies are on the move. Especially among the workers. But the dirt is already flying

Among the highlights of the program FPÖ (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) includes freedom, security, peace and prosperity for Austria and its people. The party is oriented towards patriotic Austrian political forces and emphasizes the history and traditions of Austria. Between 2017 and 2019, the FPÖ was a coalition partner of the Austrian People’s Party in the first government of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

“We are committed to our homeland Austria as part of the German linguistic and cultural community, to our original ethnic groups and to the Europe of free nations and homelands. We advocate for Austria’s right to self-determination and for the preservation and defense of our image of man and society, which grew out of our tradition and historical development,” says the Free Party of Austria.

In the elections to the European Parliament, where the party is part of the ID faction – Identity and Democracy – the party goes with the slogan Stop the madness of the EU and demands the return of powers from Brussels to the nation states and more direct democracy. It also advocates the reduction of the powers of the European Parliament and the European Commission, and the main priority of the European Union should thus be the reduction of bureaucracy.

“The FPÖ wants a radical change of course towards the EU, which will ensure peace, freedom and prosperity for the citizens of Europe!” states the Austrian Free Party.

The FPÖ’s immigration policy is based on several key principles. The party promotes a tough stance on illegal immigration and calls for Australian-style measures, including entry bans and zero tolerance for illegal asylum applications. It emphasizes effective border protection, including the creation of care centers outside the EU and the deportation of persons with a negative asylum decision. The FPÖ also advocates an end to the asylum chaos and strongly rejects the granting of asylum to people from countries outside Europe. This policy aims to protect national security and sovereignty, while at the same time limiting the flow of illegal migrants, which is one of the main points of the program of this Austrian party.

The party rejects the Green Deal, which it considers damaging European industry and making life more expensive. He advocates stopping this project and wants to ensure energy availability for households and the economy, as well as fair payments for Austrian farmers and the protection of domestic agriculture.

Last but not least, the FPÖ demands a review of the European Union’s coronavirus measures and a review of vaccine orders, as well as a review of compensation payments to any injured parties.

The chairman of the party is Herbert Kickl. The party is most popular among the working class, as it shows opinion poll from April. In this poll, the party won 29%. The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) only 23% and the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) 20%.

According to the server Auf1 fearing the rise of the FPÖ, the “system” has launched a fight against Kickl, in which the media also joins in, to stop Kickl.

Some media such as Der Standard, however, they point out that not all of the FPÖ’s promises and demands are realizable. They consider an immediate halt to all migration and blanket rejection of all asylum applications to be practically impossible. “Unless someone suspends the Convention on Human Rights and the right to asylum, thereby inevitably leaving the international community like the EU,” argues Der Standard.

In addition, the FPÖ is also currently in the spotlight due to the interrogations of party chairman Kickla by the investigative committee on the abuse of power. It is being investigated whether Kickl secretly obtained hundreds of thousands of euros through an advertising agency in Carinthia in recent years. According to the official entry in the commercial register, the founder, partner and managing director for all those years was Thomas S. from Carinthia, who once worked in the Carinthian FPÖ under Kickl. The agency has repeatedly participated in the election campaigns of FPÖ organizations and there have also been convictions in connection with the commission of the FPÖ Carinthia, reports a German daily.

Kickl went on vacation this week instead of attending more of the hearings, in what some see as an attempt by the FPÖ to divert attention from corruption and scandals linked to the party.

ÖVP parliamentary group leader Andreas Hanger called FPÖ chairman Herbert Kickl a “coward of the nation”.

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