The Austrian far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) maintains close ties with Balkan autocrats, and the Austrian government that the right-wingers will soon lead could bring bad consequences for the Balkans as well, as the libertarians question the post-war order there, writes the Swiss daily Der Bund.
"Immediately after (FPOe leader) Herbert Kickl received the mandate to form a new Austrian government, Serbian autocrat Aleksandar Vučić spoke up. He congratulated the FPOe chief on his 'honorable task', called for mutual respect and trust, and offered even closer cooperation," the Bern daily writes.
The liberal daily notes that with Kickl as Austrian Chancellor, Vučić will likely gain another spokesman in Brussels, along with Hungarian and Slovak Prime Ministers Viktor Orban and Robert Fico, who "are both considered (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's men at the European Union headquarters."
In addition, "the FPOe does not attach much importance to Serbia fulfilling the criteria for membership in the European Union," and "even blames the EU for blackmailing methods" against Serbia, writes the Bund.
Unlike Brussels, which demands that Serbia join sanctions against Russia, as other Western Balkan countries have already done, Austrian libertarian politicians argue that Vučić should not complicit in the failed EU policy, the daily writes, adding that the Austrian far right believes that of all the Western Balkan countries, only Serbia should join the EU.
Also, while international observers, according to the Bund, condemned the massive irregularities in the last elections in Serbia, the FPOe defended the elections.
Belgrade is also reacting with satisfaction to the refusal of certain Freedom Party officials to recognize Kosovo's independence, the Swiss newspaper writes, adding that right-wing populists are thereby directly stabbing influential European countries that have recognized Kosovo's statehood.
"Pro-regime media in Belgrade are excitedly predicting that the new government in Vienna under the leadership of Kickl will even withdraw recognition of Kosovo," the daily writes.
The Bund recalls that the FPoe also advocated for greater isolation of Kosovo and unsuccessfully fought against visa liberalization for Kosovo, warning in an alarming tone that there was a threat of an influx of economic migrants from Kosovo to Schengen zone countries, but that in the end nothing came of it.
The Austrian libertarians, the daily writes, also maintain relations with "the leader of Serbian separatists in Bosnia and Herzegovina" Milorad Dodik, that there is mutual assistance in election campaigns, and that Dodik has called on Serbs living in Vienna to vote for the FPOe.
"FPOe politicians have not hesitated in the past to support Dodik's initiatives to weaken the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Bund reminds.
The daily also reflects on the fact that Kickl opened the door for libertarians to have relations with the extreme right-wing, racist and xenophobic identitarian movement.
"Herbert Kickl sees the Identitarian movement as an 'interesting project worth supporting', a kind of 'right-wing NGO'," the daily writes, recalling that "at an Identitarian party last summer, the Holocaust was described as 'cool', and 'Srebrenica 2.0' was also requested."
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