Report: FPÖ Interior Minister would endanger Austria's internal security

Report: FPÖ Interior Minister would endanger Austria's internal security Article by AFP • 19 hours • 2 minutes reading time According to a report, FPÖ participation in government could endanger security in Austria - especially if the party were to get the Interior Ministry. This is the result of a paper written by the security apparatus and made available to "Spiegel". "FPÖ participation in government, in particular the renewed takeover of the Interior Ministry, would have a direct and negative impact on the investigation work and the counter-espionage of the Republic," the paper states. In this case, it is also warned of a possible "weakening of the state's ability to defend itself against threats from home and abroad". The distribution of departments is a point of contention in the coalition negotiations between the right-wing populist FPÖ and the conservative ÖVP, which have been ongoing for around a month. FPÖ leader and chancellor candidate Herbert Kickl is claiming responsibility for European policy as well as the Finance Ministry and the Interior Ministry for his party. However, the ÖVP has held the latter since 2000 and does not want to give it up. Negotiations recently stalled, but will continue on Monday. According to observers, an FPÖ-led government is still the most likely outcome. According to the document, the FPÖ is also described on several levels as a possible gateway for militant forces and foreign powers. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, there are "deeply rooted relationships between the FPÖ and Russian networks". The right-wing populists have been considered particularly close to Russia for years - even after the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. According to the security paper, Austria is one of the European countries particularly affected by acts of sabotage. Referring to a raid on the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in 2018 under then Interior Minister Kickl, the paper states that the FPÖ "does not shy away from exerting targeted influence on the security authorities". The raid was later found to be illegal and the FPÖ was accused of abuse of power. The right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) became the strongest force in the Austrian parliament for the first time in the parliamentary elections in September, with 28.85 percent of the vote. However, none of the other major parties were initially prepared to form a coalition with it. After coalition talks between the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the liberal Neos failed, Federal President Alexander van der Bellen commissioned Kickl, a right-wing radical, to form a government for the first time.