ORF "summer talk"

Kickl: “That’s why I’m aiming for position one”

FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl in the ORF "summer interview"

(Bild: ORF/Roman Zach-Kiesling)

FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl was very statesmanlike in the ORF "Sommergespräch" on Monday evening. The party leader, who is usually not at a loss for words, was almost tame and peaceful. However, Kickl once again emphasized that he was clearly aiming for "position one". He then got going on the subject of corona. 

In an interview with ORF presenter Martin Thür, Kickl appeared almost tame, emphasizing his closeness to nature at the beginning - but nevertheless did not miss the opportunity to fire off a jab at his political rivals. For example, the U Committee, where he canceled his second appearance, was simply "unconstitutional".  

It would also do his political rivals no harm to "gain a little distance".

Herbert Kickl during the ORF "summer talk"

(Bild: ORF/Roman Zach-Kiesling)

Herbert Kickl during the ORF "Summer Talk"

(Bild: ORF/Roman Zach-Kiesling)

(Bild: ORF/Roman Zach-Kiesling)

However, the FPÖ leader did not completely leave out populist positions. For example, new taxes of any kind would "damage Austria as a business location". Previous economic policy had led to the country coming close to being "clinically dead".

"Only possible with a libertarian"
With regard to social policy, Kickl once again emphasized that the minimum income should be made a "privilege for citizens". There should be tax incentives for the "top performers" in the country. These developments are "only possible with a Freedom Party, because it is not interwoven and intertwined with this system", Kickl attacked the previous governing parties. For this reason, he is clearly aiming for first place. 

Why do you think I'm aiming for first place?

Herbert Kickl hat den Wahlsieg bereits im Blick. 

Kickl no longer wants to subscribe to the idea that he has anything in common ideologically with the left. Only the will to change the system is an issue for him - "but if you want to do it like Andreas Babler, then you're heading back towards communism". 

Corona gets Kickl going
Kickl then got going when it came to the topic of corona. During this time, the government had "taken leave of its senses" and fundamental rights and democratic values had been curtailed. "People who stood up for these freedoms were criminalized." The storming of parliament and an insurance building had been "invented and spread in all the media".

Video: The attack by coronavirus demonstrators on an insurance building in Vienna, in which two employees were injured - a "fabrication" according to Herbert Kickl ...

The FPÖ leader also addressed the topic of terrorism and surveillance in an extremely motivated manner. The new surveillance law was "a rubber paragraph" and the focus should be much more on "extremist Islam". Kickl therefore gave a clear no to the planned surveillance of messengers. 

Attacks against ORF presenter Thür
Kickl, who has worked for the FPÖ since 1995, does not see himself as a typical professional politician. When presenter Thür reads out the files that the SPÖ and ÖVP had quoted in the U Committee, Kickl even threatens the ORF journalist with "legal problems". Kickl also rejected his company involvement in a communications agency and accused Thür of allowing himself to be "harnessed to a propaganda roller". The FPÖ leader also repeatedly spoke of "unclean journalism". 

Kickl played down his closeness to the controversial Hungarian head of government Viktor Orban. He had even criticized Orban once when he had released smugglers. 

Restraint on the topic of migration
However, Kickl was actually extremely reserved when it came to migration policy, speaking of a "culture of performance" and calling for the Austrian labor market to be made more attractive for skilled workers. "Such measures must be taken because we are unfortunately no longer in a position to train essential professions in the country." However, this is only a short-term solution for him, said the FPÖ leader. Dependence on foreign workers is not a permanent solution. 

In conclusion, Kickl once again emphasized that only the person who came first in the election could lay claim to the position of Chancellor. He himself sees the FPÖ as a "party of the center", which is always punished by its opponents as "right-wing extremist".