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Federal Chancellor shortly after the attack:
Careful choice of words
Photo: Georges Schneider / imago images
The Chancellor kneels, the Federal President lights a candle, the President of the National Council crosses himself.
Leaden silence hangs over Vienna's Judengasse, while the leaders of the republic pay homage to the dead in the bloodbath of the previous evening.
In the background: Herbert Kickl.
The FPÖ hardliner and former Austrian interior minister was responsible for the fight against terrorism until May 2019.
During his term in office, the radical Islamist Kujtim F. was arrested for supporting the terrorist militia "Islamic State" (IS).
Released early from custody, the Vienna-born son of Albanian immigrants from former Yugoslavia butchered four passers-by not far from St. Stephen's Cathedral on Monday.
Right-wing agitator Kickl ("Daham instead of Islam" and "More courage for our Viennese blood") now sees his recurring warnings against religious fanatics tragically confirmed.
He accuses the security authorities of failure.
In fact, the 20-year-old assassin had been on, or, better, under the radar of the police and judiciary for years.
There has been "a plethora of indications of his radicalization," admits the Director General for Public Security.
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