Few politicians in Austria are as polarizing as FPÖ head Herbert Kikl. Under his leadership, the right-wingers managed to rise again after the "Ibiza Affair" and win the elections.
According to the preliminary results of the Austrian elections held on Sunday, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) won 29,2 percent of the vote, the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) 26,5 percent, and the Social Democrats (SPÖ) 21 percent. Followed by New Austria and the Liberal Forum ( NEOS) with 8 percent and the Greens 7,4 percent.
Compared to the last election in 2019, the FPÖ gained the most votes (+13 percent), while the biggest losers were the party in power, the ÖVP (-11 percent), and the Greens lost 5,6 percent of the vote. That coalition can no longer remain in power in this form.
The biggest victory of the right wing so far
The victory in the National Council elections is the FPÖ's biggest success so far. With that came the opportunity for Kikl to become the federal chancellor. That is, the "people's chancellor", as the right-wingers advertised it during the election campaign - despite accusations that the term is associated with the Nazis, among other things.
Unlike the former greats of the Slobdoar Party of Austria (FPÖ) such as Jörg Haider and Heinz-Christian Strache, it is difficult to imagine Herbert Kikl in the happy, loose atmosphere of a party. The 55-year-old head of the right-wing FPÖ does not appear to be a charming seducer of the masses. His charm and charisma are modest, and he is considered a loner. He grew up in a working-class family in Carinthia, studied history and philosophy, but did not graduate. Long-distance runners and hikers.
Nevertheless, from the perspective of the FPÖ, Kikl has been doing well in recent years. In 2019, after the "Ibiza affair" surrounding the former boss Strache, the party was hit hard.
Provocation as a style
Kikl has been the leader of the right-wing party since 2021. By using the term "people's chancellor", the FPÖ has remained true to itself under his leadership: In his speeches, the party leader is aggressive and provocative, often with catchy slogans.
Already during his time as a speech writer and campaign manager, he developed slogans such as "Homeland instead of Islam" or "More courage for our Viennese blood - too much foreign pleases no one" (it rhymes in German).
When little Kikl presented the FPÖ, according to his biographers Gernot Bauer and Robert Trajšler, he said: "I don't know anything, but I can learn everything." At the Freedom Academy, a political center for young right-wingers, he was at first a kind of assistant, who put up posters.
Speechwriter for Haider and right-hand man of Strache
However, his talent was noticed, he made a career. He became the speechwriter of Haider, whom he adored, and with whom the rise of the FPÖ began in the 2005s. He became the right-hand man of Strache, whose rise from XNUMX he followed as general secretary of the FPÖ for twelve years.
Long before the then American President Donald Trump used "America first" as a slogan, the FPÖ, with the help of Kikl, positioned itself as a "social people's party" that wants to take care of the interests of Austrians first.
From the Minister of Internal Affairs to the opposition member
In the government with the conservative ÖVP-FPÖ, formed in 2017 under Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Kikl became the Minister of the Interior.
At the time, he caused outrage by, among other things, requesting a night curfew for asylum seekers. He also advocated that "law must follow politics, not politics the law." In addition, the raid he initiated on the Federal Institute for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Terrorism (BVT) undermined the reputation of the intelligence service.
After the breakup of the coalition after the "Ibiza affair" and the fall of the FPÖ in the 2019 elections, Kikl was soon successful again from the opposition.
To the delight of FPÖ supporters, he has been attacking migrants, political elites and - as he calls them - the "systemic media" for years. The key element for the resurgence of the right-wing was the corona crisis. During the pandemic, the FPÖ became a spokesperson for the opponents of lockdowns and mandatory vaccinations. The right-wingers did not spare nor the World Health Organization, accusing it of a "health dictatorship".
ÖVP sees Kikla as a "security risk"
Kikl's behavior, as well as his views, which are considered pro-Russian, make him unattractive even to the ÖVP. Conservatives call him a "security risk" and refuse to cooperate with him - but not with the rest of the FPÖ.
Kikl "radicalized himself", concluded current chancellor Karl Nehamer, ruling out the possibility of cooperation with the FPÖ leader before the elections.
In addition, before negotiations on a possible coalition can even take place, Kikl would have to receive a mandate to form a government from Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen. Traditionally, this mandate goes to the winner of the election, but this is not written in the constitution. The president has already expressed his reservations.
Bonus video:
