Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen is not known for allowing himself to be guided by emotions, for being quick to use strong words or for reacting carelessly. On the contrary: He is sometimes criticized for his calm, thoughtful manner, his thoughtful choice of words, his long waits and hesitations when quick intervention and clear words seemed appropriate. But after Alexei Navalny's death, even Van der Bellen couldn't hold on to himself. The President was clear and very clear. In a message on Vladimir Putin and his murderous regime are responsible for this. My thoughts are with the relatives of Aleksei Navalny and all those who continue to courageously fight for freedom, democracy and human rights in Russia."

Apparently it was important to Van der Bellen to show his edge here.

In doing so, the Federal President also put the Austrian federal government under pressure, from which nowhere near such clear words could be heard. In his first reaction, Chancellor Karl Nehammer wrote: “Alexei Navalny fought for a free and democratic Russia throughout his life. The circumstances of his death must be independently investigated and fully clarified.

But when the Russian embassy in Vienna reprimanded the head of state, the government had to stand before him. The embassy's message: "In connection with offensive statements made by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen regarding Russia and the Russian leadership, the embassy has lodged a decisive protest with the Austrian Foreign Ministry." In a verbal note it was pointed out that such an "outrageous “Rhetoric” cannot be accepted.

Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) forbade this criticism. "Russian lamentation has no place here," he explained. A direct accusation of blame, as Van der Bellen had suggested, came neither from the Chancellor nor from the Foreign Minister. Schallenberg added that he does not participate in conspiracy theories, but made it clear: "We know that there was a poison attack on him, that he was put in the gulag, we know which regime tried to destroy his health."

On Sunday evening, Schallenberg finally became clearer in a TV interview: He “clearly” described Navalny’s death as “a killing in installments.” Asked whether he supported the Federal President's choice of words, Schallenberg said, of course it was "a criminal, murderous regime."

Empathyless standing sentences

Politicians from the opposition party SPÖ had a very difficult time calling for an independent investigation into the circumstances of the death in sentences that seemed lacking in empathy, knowing full well that this will not and cannot take place. No one in the SPÖ, from party leader Andreas Babler downwards, could bring themselves to clearly assign blame and condemn him. The Social Democrats traditionally find it difficult to distance themselves from Moscow; there was a lot of hesitation and hesitation instead of a clear positioning in connection with the Russian attack on Ukraine.

The Austrian federal government, or more precisely the coalition between the ÖVP and the Greens, is clearer in its positioning - but only partially credible. Russia's war against Ukraine has been going on for two years now, and since then it has been clear that Austria must free itself from Russia's dependence on supplies. What has happened since then: nothing. The share of Russian gas imports in Austria is higher than ever before: in December 2023 it was 98 percent of the total import volume. To be fair, it must be said that Austria reduced its import of Russian gas in absolute terms last year.

Obvious policy failure

However, the government has not kept its promise to drastically reduce the share. The fact that the Energy and Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler, a Green Party, who is responsible and at least partly responsible for this, is publicly considering after two years whether Austrian energy companies could not be legally obliged to diversify their gas orders is a mockery. With its dependence on Russia, Austria makes itself vulnerable and open to blackmail.

But there is another topic that is affecting Austria these days: Alexandra Föderl-Schmid, the Austrian-born deputy editor-in-chief of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, became the target of a right-wing smear campaign following allegations of plagiarism. In the current episode of the podcast "Inside Austria" we reconstruct how reports from an industry media turned into a campaign against critical quality journalism and how a single journalist got caught in the crossfire.

My personal social media moment:

ORF presenter Armin Wolf reminds FPÖ boss Herbert Kickl that he did not always have a good opinion of Peter Westenthaler, who moved into the important ORF committee as a trustee via the FPÖ ticket.

Stories we recommend to you today:

  • A cruel murder of Putin's harshest critic:

    The Kremlin chief's rule is absolute. But with Alexei Navalny, the last small hope for a better future for Russia died 

  • Hate on the Internet: Why the trolls aren't allowed to win

    : Trolls and controlled bots abound on the Internet, people become haters and bullies. Is society so divided, or is it just a distorted image? And: How could it be changed? 

  • Julija Navalnaya: Navalny's widow as the new political hope:

    After the death of Alexei Navalny, many are looking hopefully to his wife Julija Navalnaja, who was already active at his side 

I say побачимось and say goodbye to you in Ukrainian,

Thank you very much for your attention and kind regards from Vienna,


Michael Völker, Head of Domestic Department DER STANDARD

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