The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Austria: Herbert Kickl is to become the new FPÖ boss

2021-06-08T21:46:47.081Z


After internal quarrels, the head of the right-wing populist FPÖ resigned last week. Now parliamentary group leader Herbert Kickl is to take over the post. He is considered a sharp critic of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.


Enlarge image

FPÖ parliamentary group leader Herbert Kickl: "I am in good spirits and full of zest for action"

Photo: Georg Hochmuth / dpa

The resignation of Norbert Hofer as party leader of the Austrian FPÖ last week came as a surprise even to his party friends.

According to media reports, even leading party people were not informed in advance about the move.

Now new leadership structures are apparently being established in the FPÖ.

As reported by the dpa news agency, among others, the current FPÖ parliamentary group leader Herbert Kickl will also take over the chairmanship of the party. The 52-year-old was unanimously nominated by the party presidency on Monday in Vienna as the successor to the previous FPÖ boss Norbert Hofer. The decision still has to be approved by a federal party conference on June 19.

Hofer, who had previously run for the office of Federal President, also referred to the difficult cooperation within the party in press statements on his resignation.

"I don't get told every day that I'm out of place," Hofer was quoted as saying in the newspaper "Österreich".

According to ORF, Hofer was still present at the presidium meeting.

"The committee will be advised, it will make a wise decision," Hofer was quoted as saying.

However, he himself will hold back in the internal vote, said the ex-boss.

Kickl is considered the long-term chief thinker of the right-wing populists.

He already played an important role under ex-party leader Heinz-Christian Strache.

In addition to an anti-migration course, criticism of the corona measures was his main topic recently.

"I'm in good spirits and full of zest for action," said Kickl.

According to observers, the FPÖ could initially have blocked any prospect of further government participation with the personnel.

A new edition of the alliance with the conservative ÖVP is now ruled out.

Kickl is one of the sharpest critics of Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP).

Several times he brought an all-party alliance into play to overthrow the Chancellor - without success.

The FPÖ should now move even further to the right.

The party has been in opposition since its coalition with the ÖVP collapsed two years ago in the wake of the Ibiza scandal and related corruption allegations.

It is currently between 15 and 20 percent in the polls.

Kickl was Minister of the Interior from 2017 to 2019.

At that time there was a controversial raid on the Austrian Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

The house search was supposed to uncover maladministration, but the action damaged the trust of foreign partner services.

fek / dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-06-08

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.