After scandal with ORF

Tranquil place for heated candidate

Vilimsky went vote-catching at the morning pint

(Bild: Petja Mladenova)

FPÖ top candidate Harald Vilimsky is known for provocative appearances. He confirms this at an election rally in Vienna's Simmering district. He opens the event with a loud argument with an ORF journalist. Vilimsky feels provoked by the journalist's questions and sends the reporter packing. He then uses the incident to create a stir on his social media channels. 

The blue top candidate is very active online and had already caused a stir the day before with a post: "May this Islamist scumbag burn in the eternal fire of hell. Unbelievable!!!!" he wrote after the knife attack on a police officer in Mannheim, Germany. 

Tranquil appearance, "a bit like in the village"
The place Vilimsky has chosen for his election campaign is very quiet by contrast. The Simmering street festival is well attended on Saturday morning, but not overcrowded. It is not loud, even the two street musicians are not particularly vocal. "It's a bit like a village here," is how one blue functionary sums it up.

When asked whether he is not afraid of becoming the victim of a knife attack himself, the blue MP replies: "No. I have so many different postings every day, so many different negative reactions." He feels sadness and sympathy on the one hand, "but also anger on the other. And somewhere along the line, a politician has to say that this is not on, the people who harbor this contempt should disappear." 

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Doesn't trust the police leadership
Does he feel safe? "I trust the officers on the street. They are great people who are working hard and trying to get to grips with the effects of crime." He does not trust the management level, says Vilimsky, who shortly afterwards demonstrates his sympathy for the police by stopping at the police stand and boarding a plane.

The FPÖ is not the only party that wants to use the crowd in Simmering to gain votes. All the others are also represented. They even strike up a conversation, but not just a friendly one. A man with an SPÖ balloon says quite loudly as he walks past: "It stinks of sh.... here"

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Balloons also go down well with non-FPÖ voters
The blue EU lead candidate is accompanied by city party leader Dominik Nepp and National Council member Harald Stefan, who lives in Simmering. The people who get involved in a conversation with Vilimsky are almost all FPÖ voters.

"We are Kickl fans and were already Haider fans," says a group of three men. "Good luck! I hope that people will finally see sense," Vilimsky is told by an elderly lady. As is so often the case, the blue balloons also go down well with non-FPÖ voters ...