After espionage scandals

Greens accuse FPÖ of betrayal in the service of Russia

The FPÖ and Russia ...

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Uta Rojsek-Wiedergut, FPÖ, BK, stock.adobe.com)

In view of the revelations in the Ott spy scandal, the Greens are making serious accusations against the FPÖ. The party is acting "at the call of a despotic warmonger", said Sigrid Maurer, head of the Green Party, at a press conference on Friday.

Party leader Herbert Kickl wanted to turn Austria into a satellite state of Russia. Maurer identified "treason" against Austria and also named a possible connection to ex-Wirecard board member Jan Marsalek, who fled to Moscow.

"Intolerable machinations"
 Maurer spoke of the "absolutely alarming, ultimately intolerable machinations of the Freedom Party as Putin's accomplice". In particular, she recalled the friendship agreement signed between the FPÖ and Vladimir Putin's United Russia party at the end of 2016. There were indications uncovered by the Bellingcat platform that Marsalek, who was also at the center of the Ott case, was in Moscow at the time of the signing.

And: the contract had obviously already been negotiated months before, there had been a decision by the FPÖ party presidium. Maurer pointed out that Norbert Hofer had also been a member of this committee at a time when he was also in the run-off against Alexander Van der Bellen in the presidential election.

You have to let that melt in your mouth. Someone is running for the highest office in the Austrian state, he wants to become Federal President, Commander-in-Chief of our army, and this person, together with the Federal Executive Committee of the Freedom Party, decides on a treaty of friendship with a foreign power, with a despotic regime, with a dictator. This must be called what it is: it is treason, it is a betrayal of the Austrian people.

Sigrid Maurer

Infiltration of Austrian secret services by Russian agents
With Marsalek and Herbert Kickl as Interior Minister in the Turquoise-Blue era, Maurer, citing experts, identified a "downright destabilization campaign against Austria", which culminated in the raid on the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (BVT) in 2018, based on statements by three witnesses with a clear connection to Russia. It was about the potential infiltration of Austrian secret services by Russian agents, which is why the National Security Council had also been convened. When asked, the parliamentary group leader also spoke of information in chats about money flows from Russia. Kickl will also have to answer these questions.

Club leader Sigrid Maurer

(Bild: APA/Georg Hochmuth)

The FPÖ reacted dismissively to the criticism. In a press release, Secretary General Christian Hafenecker spoke of a "green fairytale hour" and emphasized that it was not the FPÖ but the ÖVP and the Greens who were betraying the people. In the same press release, Hofer emphasized that he had not been able to discover "a certain Jan Marsalek" at the signing of the friendship treaty.

The Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev, who works for Bellingcat and had to leave Austria last year due to Russian activities in which Egisto Ott was allegedly involved, spoke of extremely traumatizing experiences on Friday on Ö1's "Mittagsjournal". It is good to see that Austria is now trying to clear the air and regain international trust when it comes to the secret services. However: "I fear that this newly gained trust could also be lost quickly if there is a change in the political landscape."

According to Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP), the role of Russia in the BVT raid under Kickl is also currently being investigated in the Ott case. This question is part of the almost 100-page arrest warrant, Karner said on the sidelines of a press conference, and "investigations are being carried out at full speed in all directions", he also referred to the FPÖ's friendship treaty with Putin's party "United Russia".