Austria is facing a unique situation: It could well be that after the National Council elections in autumn 2024, only two-party coalitions with the FPÖ will be possible. The partly right-wing extremist party is consistently at around thirty percent in surveys; Social Democrats and conservative ÖVP each have a little more than twenty percent. Even if the latter entered into a “grand coalition,” they would probably need the support of a third party, such as the Greens or the liberal Neos.
While SPÖ leader Andreas Babler clearly rules out a coalition with the far right, the ÖVP relies on a strange language regulation. First of all, she emphasizes that she will not govern with FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl, who is a "security risk" and a "right-wing extremist," as Chancellor Karl Nehammer recently emphasized. With another FPÖ or other parts of the FPÖ, however, a coalition is possible because the "conditions are different," as Lower Austria's governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner explained on Sunday.
Coalition in Upper Austria
On closer inspection, this turns out to be a breathtaking “argumentative balancing act”. The ÖVP currently governs in three federal states with the FPÖ. The oldest of these coalitions is the one in Upper Austria; it will celebrate its tenth anniversary next year. Using their example, the argument of Nehammer, Mikl-Leitner and other ÖVP grandees can just about be followed: The Upper Austrian FPÖ leader Manfred Haimbuchner was always at a distance from first Heinz-Christian Strache and then Herbert Kickl. At times it was even rumored that Haimbuchner was in a dispute with the latter over the party leadership. The Wels native didn't make the jump to Vienna.
In comparison to Strache and Kickl, Haimbuchner tried to position the FPÖ as a national, economic liberal party and to cut ties to the far right. This was only partially successful. In Linz, the Identitarians were well connected to the FPÖ, and the right-wing extremist “Defenders of Europe” congress also took place there. In front of representatives of the AfD in June 2018, a then state councilor called for the “shutdown” of public broadcasting and claimed that there was a “cell” in the Office for the Protection of the Constitution that had to be dried up.
Things are different in Salzburg and Lower Austria, the other two federal states with an ÖVP-FPÖ government. Marlene Svazek, the FPÖ leader there, watched for a long time as the blue youth organization was led by a sympathizer of the “Identitarians,” who distributed videos of police officers whose heads he had covered with the pig emoji.
In Lower Austria, Kickl's influence on the state party is even clearer. The party's club chairman is Reinhard Teufel, who served as his head of cabinet during Kickl's time as interior minister - the time in which, according to the ÖVP, Kickl "showed that he couldn't do it." According to a report by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Teufel had “intensive” contact with “Identitarian” leader Martin Sellner. Teufel always rejected accusations that he had told him about an upcoming house search.
Contacts with the identities
The party leader in Lower Austria is Udo Landbauer, who once had to take a political break because anti-Semitic songbooks were found in his fraternity. During the 2018 election campaign, he called Johanna Mikl-Leitner a “Muslim mom” on posters. In addition to Landbauer, Christoph Luisser, once a top official under Interior Minister Kickl, and Susanne Rosenkranz, wife of the FPÖ politician Walter Rosenkranz, who was chosen by Kickl as his presidential candidate, are also active in the Mikl-Leitner government.
Haimbuchner, Svazek and Landbauer are all Kickl's deputies as FPÖ leader; In terms of content, there have only been minor disputes within the party in recent months.
The difference between “FPÖ” and “Kickl-FPÖ” is largely one brought about by the ÖVP. The Chancellor's party probably wants to signal openness to FPÖ sympathizers in the election campaign and possibly drive a wedge into the FPÖ if they insist on a coalition without Kickl. However, it is currently not expected that this plan will work.
Social media moment of the week:
It wasn't just the social media moment of the week, but a moment that will be remembered for a long time: After more than 24 hours of searching for missing people, our former editor-in-chief Alexandra Föderl-Schmid, currently a member of the editor-in-chief of the »Süddeutsche Zeitung«, was found alive found . We wish you a speedy recovery, dear Alexandra!
Stories we recommend to you today:
Chancellor Nehammer puts an end to new election speculation:
After the Agriculture Minister almost casually mentioned September 29th as the election date, the Chancellor was surprised at the excitement because: "I'm not saying anything different."
45 percent do not want to form a government under Kickl even if the FPÖ wins the election:
The question of Kickl's mandate to form a government is polarizing. Almost half are against it, even if the FPÖ comes first, but almost the same number are for it.
Is the self-proclaimed People's Chancellor actually a Chancellor of the rich?
Herbert Kickl portrays himself as someone who makes politics for the common people. Once in power, it becomes clear that the FPÖ specifically promotes certain groups: entrepreneurs and the upper middle class.
With best regards from Vienna,
Fabian Schmid, senior editor of DER STANDARD
And once again a note on our own behalf: You can order this briefing as a newsletter in your email inbox here.