Austria: Kickl wants the tools of power

SZ.de Austria: Kickl wants the tools of power Verena Mayer, Vienna • 2 hours • 3 minutes reading time The coalition talks in Vienna are hanging in the balance. The ÖVP is shocked by the demands of the FPÖ leader. They bring back bad memories. Kickl wants the tools of power Herbert Kickl doesn't think much of traditional media. When he speaks out, it's usually on the platforms of his extreme right-wing FPÖ. Daily statements or streams of his press conferences can be seen on the YouTube channel FPÖ-TV, and when Kickl has something important to announce, he does so on Facebook. This was also the case on Wednesday afternoon. Kickl first explained the tasks of a politician to his "dear friends" in a long theoretical passage (he studied philosophy). Then he drew conclusions for himself from the realization that a politician is "just a tool, an instrument, a servant, a means of implementing the will of the Austrians". That in the ongoing coalition negotiations with the conservative ÖVP he is claiming two important departments for his party: the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Interior. On the one hand, the budget crisis that a new government will have to deal with was caused by the Chancellor's party, and on the other hand, only an FPÖ Interior Minister could protect the "Austrian family" from "illegal intruders". Both demands caused shock waves in the ÖVP. The way they were put forward alone. First in a confrontational meeting between Kickl and ÖVP Chairman Christian Stocker, in which only the points on which the negotiating groups had not reached agreement were to be cleared up. And then in the greatest possible publicity on social networks, which in a country where people like to settle things behind closed doors is about as well received as ripped jeans at the Opera Ball. The Freedom Party member is obviously thinking of a concentration of decision-making power And of course there is the serious substantive problem that the ÖVP has. With the Ministry of Finance, the FPÖ would have the opportunity to block any government project, keyword debt brake. And the Ministry of the Interior not only decides on immigration and asylum, it also has the police apparatus and the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN), i.e. the Austrian secret service, under its control. Herbert Kickl was already responsible for this once, from 2017 to 2019, as Minister of the Interior under ÖVP Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. During this time, there was not only a largely illegal raid on the then Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism, but information is also said to have flowed from there to Russia. Both of these things prompted the foreign partner services to cut Austria off for a while from the flow of information that friendly secret services maintain with each other. In times of terrorism and hybrid warfare, this can massively affect a country's security. The ÖVP is accordingly dismayed. They were "surprised" by Kickl's comments on Facebook, they said in a statement. Anyone who wants to "find a partner for a joint government" should "approach them and make an offer on equal terms". For the conservatives, the FPÖ's demand to move the areas of culture, media and European affairs to the Chancellery is not an offer on equal terms, but rather one that cannot be refused, as was once said in the film "The Godfather". In other words, to make them a top priority for a possible Chancellor Kickl. He has often made it clear what he thinks of the EU and public broadcasting: not much. For Kickl, the EU should be a purely economic community, and he would like to cut the funds that come in from the household levy to the ORF. In return, media close to the FPÖ, some of which have contacts with right-wing extremists, should also receive press funding. And so the blue-black project currently seems to be on the brink. ÖVP General Secretary Alexander Pröll said on X in a reassuring manner that the People's Party was "continuing to conduct coalition negotiations on an equal footing with the aim of quickly having a government capable of acting for Austria". However, the differences in content are obvious. For example, when it comes to foreign and security policy. The ÖVP is in favour of Austria's participation in the European missile defence system "Sky Shield", while the FPÖ rejects any participation in cross-border defence projects. Another subject of dispute is the bank levy, a type of tax on credit institutions and financial service providers. This was one of the sticking points on which the negotiations between the ÖVP, Social Democrats and liberal Neos for a three-party coalition failed, as the ÖVP had always ruled out such a coalition. Now the FPÖ wants to push through one.