In a country of only 10 million inhabitants in central Europe, politics might not seem important. That isn’t the situation in Austria, though, where a far-right, pro-Russian party formed by former Nazis has a solid chance of winning Sunday’s election.
Not only would a victory for the Freedom Party, or FPÖ, have historical significance (Adolf Hitler was born in Austria), but it might also tip the scales of power in favor of Russia and the West.
Despite its tiny size, Austria has had a significant impact on Europe for millennia as a crossroads. Since it is not formally affiliated with either Russia or NATO, its neutral position has allowed politicians, diplomats, and spies to use it as a platform to tip the geopolitical scales for decades.
Not only is the FPÖ accused by its detractors of being racist and xenophobic, but some Western observers find it alarming because it is adamantly against backing Ukraine in its conflict with Moscow.
Despite Austria’s membership in the EU, the country’s far-right party, which is now topping the polls, has close ties to Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, who is the bloc’s main adversary.
Peter Filzmaier, a prominent political analyst in Austria and a professor at the universities of Gratz and Kerms, claims that the FPO is attempting to establish “an axis of far right-wing actors in the European Union”. He claimed that the party’s failure to create a coalition government would nevertheless be a “symbolic” triumph for the movement because all other major parties had declined to cooperate with them.
Herbert Kickl, a 55-year-old wiry, caustic provocateur wearing designer spectacles, is the leader of the FPÖ.
His party has labeled him the “Volkskanzler,” or “People’s Chancellor,” a moniker most closely linked to the Nazis who used it to refer to Hitler. Though Kickl and his allies deny the contemporary analogy, it is true that former members of Hiter’s paramilitary organization the SS established the FPÖ in the 1950s.
Regardless of the purpose, American politics, as well as those of Europe and a large portion of the democratic globe, will be acquainted with these populist overtones.
Kickl has profited from the migrant crisis that has swept across Europe, sending hundreds of thousands of people fleeing natural catastrophes, conflict, and poverty in the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond. Feelings of dissatisfaction heightened by the continent-wide inflation and cost-of-living problem have turned immigrants into a lightning rod.
Kickl stated during a discussion on Austrian public television on Thursday night that his goal is to construct “Fortress Austria” and “Fortress Europe.”
That would include identifying all new entrants and placing them in specialized facilities, along with a significant revamping of Austria’s immigration laws. The party also wants to send “unwanted strangers” back to their home countries through a process known as “remigration.”
Austria should be a country of “homogeneity” rather than “diversity,” according to the FPÖ’s manifesto, with the goal of restoring the “cultural identity and social peace of our homeland.” Kickl described immigration as “a gigantic security issue, because we’re bringing Islamization into the country” during the discussion on Thursday.
All of this has shocked people on all political spectrums, with opponents labeling these laws as racist, Islamophobic, and xenophobic. Jewish pundits also charge the party with employing antisemitic clichés; in a Thursday opinion article published in the Jerusalem Post, Kickl was called a “neo-Nazi” who “performs acrobatic feats” in order to evade Austria’s stringent antisemitism legislation.
Kickl has been dubbed a “right-wing extremist” by Austria’s current leader, Karl Nehammer of the opposition conservative Austrian People’s Party. Additionally, during a TV discussion last week, Kickl was admonished by left-wing Social Democratic Party leader Andreas Babler, “I think you are extremely dangerous.”
In response to these complaints, NBC News requested an interview with the FPÖ, but the FPÖ did not provide a response.
Film producer and political activist Gabriela Bacher, an Austrian-American, sees implicit similarities between her native country and former US President Donald Trump.
She said to NBC News, “I came back here and realized it’s actually no better after four years of Trump and MAGAism.” The same right-wing populist strategy of inciting fear and spreading hate speech is being used to frighten people.
The FPÖ, in her opinion, is advocating for “a restructuring of the Austrian Republic” and speaking in “very fascist language,” which is evocative of the “1920s and 1930s,” the period when the Nazis came to power.
Some fear that the FPÖ’s influence may go much beyond its boundaries.
It has long evinced sympathy for Russia, not just demanding an end to European backing for Ukraine but also pushing for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Russia as a result of its conflict. Heinz-Christian Strache, the head of the party, formally “cooperation pact”d with Putin’s United Russia party in 2016. And its newly appointed foreign minister, Karin Kneissl, danced at Putin’s wedding a year later.
It was once a junior coalition member, but it fell out of favor in 2019 after Strache was caught on camera discussing government contract modifications with a lady pretending to be a Russian oligarch’s relative.
When NBC News visited Vienna, the capital of Austria, a year earlier, they met with security specialists who were concerned about the party’s links to Putin. These analysts were publicly concerned that Western secrets would be leaked to Moscow due to the FPÖ’s involvement in an EU administration.
This time, FPÖ-led Austria may unite with like-minded countries, Slovakia and Hungary, to form a bloc critical of Ukraine. Victor Orban, the leader of Hungary and a Trump friend, proudly refers to his country as a “illiberal democracy.” The election would be the most recent development in Europe’s rightward push, as people reject mainstream centrists on topics including immigration, the economy, the environment, and the so-called “culture war.”
The European polling aggregate PolitPro indicates that the return of the FPÖ is far from assured, as it is presently polling at 27%, just ahead of the reigning Austrian People’s Party on 25% and the Social Democratic Party of Austria on 21%. Forming a coalition is nearly a given, but it’s not an easy feat when opponents demonize the FPÖ so much.
Film producer Bacher is a member of “A Promise for the Republic,” an organization that is working to make it even more difficult by putting out a call for Austrian politicians to say no to working together.
