Austria’s divisive far-right leader is running for the position of chancellor

Although he has one of Austria’s lowest personal popularity ratings due to his harshness, far-right leader Herbert Kickl’s political savvy enabled his party win its first national election and now has a chance to become the country’s first chancellor.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen gave Kickl, leader of the Russia-friendly, euroskeptic Freedom Party (FPO), the duty of creating a coalition government on Monday after a moderate attempt to put together one without the FPO failed over the weekend.

At a normally boisterous, beer-fueled gathering prior to last year’s election, Kickl made the remark, “Kickl here, Kickl there, Kickl everywhere,” to annoy conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer, his primary opponent at the time, for wasting so much time discussing him.

The FPO won 29% of the vote in the September election, which Nehammer characterized as a decision “between him and me.” Kickl said, “I don’t know if I should feel more honored or stalked!”

Kickl frequently uses these jabs to break up his sour rants about other people. His comments in parliament amuse even his most vocal opponents, but many others find his criticism of gender politics or immigration to be quite unpleasant.

Kickl frequently ranks last in an OGM study of the popularity of top politicians conducted for the news agency APA, in large part because of his confrontational demeanor.

DRIVEN STRATEGIST

In order to appeal to more moderate voters, the former speechwriter for former FPO firebrand Joerg Haider can also carefully adjust his wording and tone before to the election.

A centrist attempt to create what he described as a “coalition of losers” that marginalized the FPO was subsequently criticized by him. That fell apart over the weekend, and Nehammer resigned after describing Kickl as a security danger and conspiracy theorist.

The center-right People’s Party (OVP), led by Nehammer, has indicated that it would now begin coalition negotiations with the FPO. However, there is no assurance that they will be able to establish a coalition government, and another election may still be necessary.

Despite his ability to change his tone, several experts noted that Kickl had a rare strategic intelligence due to his stance on important issues and his unwillingness to cede power to another party so that they might govern together, as Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders did last year.

“He’s a very, very clear and very focused strategist,” political expert Thomas Hofer stated.

Together, the OVP and FPO governed in a brief coalition that ended in 2019 when the then-leader of the far-right party was embroiled in a video-sting controversy. The parties have similar views on subjects like as immigration policies and tax cuts.

It’s unclear if Kickl can work with the OVP to lower the budget deficit, even if the FPO was able to capitalize on voters’ fears due to Austria’s economy contracting for the second consecutive year.

They disagree on the war in Ukraine as well. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party allies Kickl and the FPO are against sanctions on Russia, arguing that they go against Austria’s neutrality.

VOLKSKANZLER

Compared to Haider and his more outgoing predecessors, Kickl, 56, presents a more solemn image. He has participated in ultra-triathlons akin to the Ironman and avoids gatherings.

As the future “Volkskanzler,” or “people’s chancellor,” he has positioned himself as the Nazis’ (though others’) preferred title for Adolf Hitler.

Hundreds of demonstrators, including Jewish students, taunted Kickl outside Van der Bellen’s office on Monday, with one poster reading, “Never again Volkskanzler.”

Kickl stated in 2010 that he was against the Waffen-SS being branded as “collectively guilty” of war crimes by Hitler. In 1955, the first leader of the FPO had been a Nazi minister and a prominent SS commander.

The deworming drug ivermectin is effective against COVID-19, according to Kickl, who has joined conspiracy theories. Donald Trump, who is now expected to return to the White House, has also joined in.

However, after his party’s collapse in 2019, Kickl’s fight against coronavirus restrictions, including as lockdowns and vaccination requirements, helped turn things around. Among EU countries, Austria had the highest incidence of vaccination holdouts.

During his tenure as interior minister in 2018, Kickl’s opponents claim that he planned a police raid on the domestic intelligence agency’s offices to rid it of OVP supporters. Kickl refutes the allegation.

According to Van der Bellen, foreign intelligence services decreased their collaboration with Austria as a result of the raid.

Sebastian Kurz, the chancellor at the time, ordered Van Der Bellen to fire Kickl when that coalition fell apart.

When he revealed on Monday that he had invited Kickl to form a government, Van der Bellen, a former leader of the left-wing Greens, may have mentioned these as some of the reasons why “I did not take this step lightly.”