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Austria’s far-right leader defends plans for ‘re-migration’ and revoking citizenship

Austria's far-right leader Herbert Kickl has given a rare and controversial interview to the country's broadcaster in which he defended several policy ideas that would have a huge impact on foreign citizens.

Published: 11 January 2024 15:56 CET
Austria's far-right leader defends plans for 're-migration' and revoking citizenship
Chairman of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPOe) Herbert Kickl is displayed on a screen as he speaks during a party campaign rally of the FPOe Carinthia in Klagenfurt, Carinthia on February 24, 2023, ahead of local elections. (Photo by Alex HALADA / AFP)

Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader, Herbert Kickl, on Wednesday evening, gave a rare and controversial interview to the public broadcaster ORF, defending a series of policy ideas, including the deportation of what the far-right is calling “non-assimilated citizens” with a migration background.

When asked about his views on statements by Austrian far-right activists that the country should “deport non-assimilated citizens with a migration background” and promote a “remigration by reversing the inward migration of foreigners”, Kickl did not dismiss the ideas. 

In fact he said:  “If someone believes they can despise this society here, even fight this society, attack our values, then we can create a legal situation […] that such people can also have their citizenship revoked”.

READ ALSO: What measures against foreigners is Austria’s far-right trying to push?

According to the FPÖ leader, it would only not be possible to deport citizens who had Austrian citizenship “from birth” – but in the case of naturalised citizens, Austria could revoke the citizenship.  When it was pointed out that the deportation of citizens violated the European Convention on Human Rights, Kickl again said that a “legal situation” could be created in this regard. 

He also reiterated his support for an asylum freeze, demanding an end to the admission of further asylum seekers in Austria.

He said: “If we no longer accept asylum applications, then we don’t need to deport anyone.”

Far-right party

The FPÖ party is known for having connections to the extreme right, and its foundation is also connected to former Nazi party members.

The party was part of the ruling coalition in Austria with ÖVP’s Sebastian Kurz. Still, that partnership crumbled – as did FPÖ’s popularity – after the corruption scandal known as Ibizagate (Ibiza-Affäre), which brought down the former vice-chancellor and head of FPÖ Heinz-Christian Strache. 

READ ALSO: UPDATE: Why is support for Austria’s far-right FPÖ rising?

Since 2020, Austria has been led by a centre-right/left coalition with ÖVP and Greens as partners federally, but their differences and a series of corruption allegations against the ÖVP have made the combo highly unpopular in the country. At the same time, the FPÖ has rebuilt itself as Austria’s populist (and still far-right) party, riding the anti-vax wave and protesting the unpopular Covid measures taken by the ruling coalition during the pandemic.

Similarly to 2016, the FPÖ has also been gaining popularity with its extreme stance on migration and asylum policies, criticism of the European Union and intense nationalism. The result of this populist campaign shows in voting polls that the FPÖ has been consistently leading in voting intentions.

If that will lead to a Kickl-led Austria after the autumn elections remains to be seen. Most parties and party leaders have already categorically ruled out a coalition, if not with the FPÖ, at least with its controversial leader.

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AUSTRIAN HABITS

What issues do Austrians care about the most?

It is election year, and a new survey reveals which topics Austrians care about the most. Here we tell you what lies closest to their hearts and what does not.

Published: 15 May 2024 12:39 CEST
What issues do Austrians care about the most?

On October 23rd, Austria’s will hold its parliamentary elections for the National Council. This election determines the 183 members of the National Council, which is the primary legislative body in the country.

The election to the National Council takes place every five years and it is the country’s most important election. Austrian citizens who are at least 16 years old on election day are entitled to vote.

With the upcoming election in mind, a recent survey conducted by Linz-based Market Institute on behalf of Der Standard, revealed which topics eligible voters in Austria consider the most important, and what actions they are willing to take to see changes taking place.

Better healthcare is top priority

The survey showed that Austrians prioritise improvements in the healthcare system the most. Around 82 percent believe that improving the healthcare system was an important political concern. This belief remains consistent across different age groups and political beliefs. However, the level of interest in healthcare improvements tends to increase with age. 

Concerns surrounding the state of the ountry’s healthcare system have mounted in recent years. Austria is currently dealing with a serious staff shortage in the healthcare sector, meaning fewer available medical staff for patients. Additionally, the system faces new challenges arising from changes in doctors preferences and the limited number of contracts for practices with public healthcare funds. Many doctors prefer to work as private sector doctors, known as “Wahlarzt” in German, rather than having contracts with insurance-funded practices, where the doctors are referred to as “Alle Kassenarzt” in German.

In addition to healthcare, Austrians also prioritise a better education system (78 percent), fighting corruption (76 percent), fighting high prices and inflation (75 percent), maintaining neutrality (72 percent), reducing energy costs (70 percent), and better paid jobs (67 percent). Legalising cannabis ranks lowest in importance among respondents, with only 19 percent in favour.

But even if voters highlighted these issues as important, many revealed. they did not want to get involved politically themselves to make things better. Only about 35 percent of those who want to improve healthcare are ready to join efforts such as demonstrating, collecting signatures, or networking with others to make changes happen.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How the Austrian healthcare system works

Niche topics create more motivation for mobilisation

The survey showed the level of public engagement varied depending on the issue.

From the subjects mentioned above, only two – neutrality and energy costs, have the potential to persuade people to get involved in politics. Since those are niched topics they have potential to garner greater public support and engagement.

David Pfarrhofer, political researcher at Market Institute, suggested that niche topics often mobilise members of the public more than broader issues due to their specific focus and great relevance to smaller groups of people.

Political views influence opinions

Political party connections affect how Austrians view different social issues. While many supporters from different parties agree on protesting against right-wing extremism and supporting rights to free abortion, opinions on other matters such as reducing working hours, improving the military, climate change activism and immigration differ a lot among different political groups.

For example, while half of The Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and a third of the The Green Party voters (Die Grünen) like the idea of working less, it is not popular among supporters of other parties, especially among those who support the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP).

Another example is that two-thirds of respondents believe that protests against discrimination against women are justified. However, supporters of ÖVP and The Freedom Party (FPÖ) agree less with this statement than the other parties. “This is probably because many of them no longer consider such a disadvantage to exist,” says Pfarrhofer.

When it comes to protests against immigration, 84 percent of FPÖ supporters view protests against immigration as justified, meanwhile 52 percent of The Green Party supporters and 40 percent of SPÖ supporters reject such protests.

READ MORE: Healthcare in Austria: Why are there fewer ‘public’ doctors?

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