But what exactly got the politician so worked up on the sidelines of the Simmering street festival in Vienna? According to ORF, the question was worded as follows: "The right-wing populists and right-wing extremists in the European Parliament are very divided. How do you convince voters that this is not a wasted vote?" The background to this is the recent expulsion of the AfD delegation from the EU parliamentary group, of which the FPÖ is also a member.

Vilimsky apparently felt that he was being addressed as a "right-wing extremist" and lost his temper. The FPÖ's top EU candidate demanded clarification as to who the journalist was referring to as "right-wing extremist". Vilimsky then went into a rage and published the scene himself on X - but without the question: "Well, you are ORF, you come and accuse me of being right-wing extremist, where are you?"

Vilimsky threatens journalists
The FPÖ man also accused ORF of indirectly accusing him of being partly responsible for the assassination attempt on Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. Vilimsky now raised his voice: "Thank you, it's over for me!" He began to move towards the journalist with a raised index finger. Finally, the Freedom Party member threatened the man as he continued to back away, saying that there would be more to talk about. Then the clip ends.

ORF has published the entire conversation:

ORF journalist spokesman Dieter Bornemann saw nothing wrong with his colleague's approach. "Anyone who turns this into a blanket accusation of right-wing extremism is trying to fuel the FPÖ's outrage machine." In the video, the question was probably cut out by the FPÖ for good reason. "The question is legitimate because, unlike Le Pen, the FPÖ did not end its cooperation with the AfD after the Krah case."

The FPÖ identified a major media scandal in the scene. "What is going on in this ORF is just beyond the pale," Vilimsky announced. He accused the broadcaster of "left-wing propaganda", which no longer had anything to do with objective reporting. "We will no longer put up with this approach. This must and will become an issue in the Board of Trustees", said the blue EU top candidate, who demanded comprehensive consequences from ORF Director General Roland Weißmann for the "left-wing activists on Küniglberg".

The ORF Directorate General told krone.at: "This is a purely journalistic question on a current political issue without any insinuations against Mr. Vilimsky. The ORF rejects any allegations in this regard."

Kickl's "right-wing extremist" medal
In political discourse in Austria, the FPÖ is repeatedly categorized as "extreme right-wing". Vilimsky's boss, party chairman Herbert Kickl, apparently has no problem with this. At the blue party's New Year's meeting in Graz in January, the FPÖ party leader called out to his supporters that he would wear this label from political competitors with pride. What's more, the label "right-wing extremism" is like a "medal" for him when it comes from "political lunatics".

During the event at the beginning of the year, Kickl also spoke of prepared "wanted lists" and the "system media". Journalists were not given their own press ID badges, but buttons with a drawn picture of Kickl and the words "Volkskanzler" (People's Chancellor) and a blue dot.

National Socialists referred to Adolf Hitler as "People's Chancellor" before he came to power. Afterwards, the dictator had to be addressed as "Reichskanzler" or "Führer". In March 2023, the term "People's Chancellor Kickl" appeared for the first time in FPÖ press releases. Vilimsky has had no problem with this so far.

This article has been automatically translated,
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