Austria's party leader from the far right The provocateur reaches for power - who is Herbert Kickl?

The project of a coalition of centrist parties in Austria has failed. This brings the FPÖ into play, which became the strongest party in the election. What does Herbert Kickl, the leader of the right-wing populists, stand for?

Following the collapse of negotiations on a centrist government in Austria, Herbert Kickl's chances of becoming Chancellor as leader of the right-wing FPÖ are increasing. His party was the strongest party in the elections in September, but has not yet had a mandate to form a government.

Now the cards have been reshuffled, as Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who did not want to govern with the 56-year-old, has announced his resignation as head of government and as leader of the conservative ÖVP. This clears the way for forces in his party who can imagine a coalition with Kickl's FPÖ.

Austria's Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen officially gave the FPÖ the mandate to form a government on Monday. The head of state made the announcement at a press conference in Vienna.

"Daham instead of Islam"

Kickl could soon become Austria's Federal Chancellor. Respectively "People's Chancellor", as the right-wing populists had always advertised during the election campaign - despite accusations that the term is associated with National Socialism.

Kickl has been at the helm of the FPÖ since 2021. In his speeches, the party leader is usually aggressive and provocative. His slogans are often memorable: Kickl developed FPÖ slogans such as "Daham instead of Islam" or "More courage for our Viennese blood - too much foreignness is not good for anyone" during his time as a speechwriter and election campaign manager.

"I may not be able to do anything, but I can learn everything," Kickl is said to have once said when he introduced himself to the FPÖ at a young age, according to his biographers Gernot Bauer and Robert Treichler. At the Freedom Academy, the political training center of the right-wing populists, he is said to have been rather inconspicuous at first - a kind of helper who set up flipcharts and posters.

Steep party career

But his talent did not remain undiscovered for long. He made a career for himself and became a speechwriter for Jörg Haider, whom he admired and with whom the FPÖ's rise to fame began in the 1980s. He later became the right-hand man of Heinz-Christian Strache, whose rise he accompanied as FPÖ Secretary General for twelve years from 2005 and after his fall in the wake of the Ibiza affair, he soon operated successfully again from the opposition.

Long before the then US President Donald Trump adopted "America first" as his slogan, the FPÖ positioned itself as a "social home party" with the help of Kickl: the interests of Austrians should always come first.

Russia-friendly and anti-asylum

Herbert Kickl represents pro-Russian positions. For example, he has long opposed EU sanctions against Russia in connection with the war in Ukraine: "This is not immoral. We must apply the same yardstick to Russia as we do to the USA, which also invades countries in many places and wages wars that violate international law."

When it comes to asylum and migration, Kickl, who was Interior Minister under Chancellor Sebastian Kurz from 2017 to 2019, takes a tough line: "Refugees who believe they don't have to abide by our rules should leave the country." He also uses the term "remigration" for this. "I don't know what's so bad about this word," he said during the election campaign.

Resurgence in the corona crisis

"Remigration" is also propagated by the Identitarian movement, which is classified as far-right in Austria. Kickl has no fear of contact with the Identitarians. The group is something like a right-wing non-governmental organization, he told a TV station. The Identitarians' campaign against the UN migration pact is an "example of an interesting political project that is worth supporting".

The coronavirus crisis was important for the FPÖ's resurgence under Kickl. During the pandemic, the party became the mouthpiece for opponents of lockdowns and mandatory vaccinations. He accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of striving for a "health dictatorship".

With material from the news agency DPA

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