"Inbred party"

FPÖ leader delivers angry speech against Salzburg Festival guests

Kickl waves the flag as he enters the stage. Shortly before leaving, he dreams of being the "father of the Austrian family".

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

300 fans gave up the bathing lake on Saturday and listened to Herbert Kickl's flow of words. He balanced between anger at all other parties and nostalgic thoughts of his youth - when Bruno Kreisky was Federal Chancellor.

Saturday afternoon in Hallein, 33 degrees hot in the old town. Musicians warble songs like "Oh When The Saints, Go Marchin' In" next to the stage to get in the mood for Herbert Kickl. Beer is served in plastic cups with the FPÖ leader's likeness. The Freedom Party squad gives the crowd water.

300 people gather at Bayrhamerplatz: party supporters, fans, some interested people and a few critical spirits can be seen (recognizable by protest shirts).

Some are on their way out of the city. Like Ludwig Peer, who says: "If this movement comes here, then I'll leave the city. And if he gets elected, then we have to make sure we leave the country while we can." This refers to Herbert Kickl.

Kickl with fans and bodyguards

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Schnedlitz: "Will bring them down from their high horse"
Kickl arrives punctually at 12 noon. The car door opens and the midday siren sounds. Selfies, photos, autographs - Kickl meets his fans. On stage, Volker Reifenberger, first on the list in Salzburg, and Michael Schnedlitz, Federal Secretary General, begin to get the crowd in the mood for Kickl's messages.

"The pendulum is swinging back" or "then we will bring them down from their high horse" are just a few of the messages that emerge alongside "corona constraints", "system parties" and "remigration".

There were no protests against the FPÖ leader's appearance. This couple stood in front of the stage as "silent critics". Kickl's speech went off without incident.

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

The previous speaker, Volker Reifenberger, repeatedly quoted the slogan derived from the religious "Our Father": "Your will be done."

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

FPÖ mandataries such as Jaqueline Schauer had their photo taken with Kickl. Bodyguards surrounded the Freedom Party leader, who held the post of powerful Interior Minister until May 2019.

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Festival guests described as "hypocrites and inbreds"
Herbert Kickl himself echoes the content of the previous speakers more clearly. He could also have gone to the festival, but said: "I don't want to be there, with these hypocrites, with this inbred party."

For 40 minutes, he rails against all parties as "one party" and "system parties", exaggerates his content and is not stingy with radical phrases.

Kreisky as Kickl's idol?
Towards the end, he seems to become nostalgic, reminiscing about "the good old days" of his childhood in the 1970s. He said he missed statesmen like back then and took them as role models. After all, the SPÖ mastermind Bruno Kreisky was Federal Chancellor from 1970 to 1983.

He himself would like to create a legacy similar to that of the statesmen back then. And he would also like to be something else: the "father of the Austrian family", Kickl announces towards the end.