Who deports more often?

A comparison of deportations under Karner and Kickl

6553 deportations in the first half of the year alone. But how do the figures for Gerhard Karner and Herbert Kickl compare? The "Krone" knows the figures.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER, APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The issue of migration has dominated the election campaign for years, as well as the political debate between the ÖVP and the FPÖ. But were deportations really more frequent under Herbert Kickl as Interior Minister than under Gerhard Karner? The "Krone" has listed the figures, parallels and differences for you.

For years, there has been a battle between the ÖVP and FPÖ over who has the upper hand when it comes to asylum issues. Viewed objectively, the blue party took up the issue of illegal migration much earlier than the ÖVP. It was former Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz who gave the People's Party a different political direction here. Even as foreign minister, he was responsible for "closing the Balkan route". Kurz was happy to ignore the fact that the Turkey deal negotiated by Angela Merkel was a basic prerequisite for this.

Who has the better record?
Who has the better asylum policy can only be measured by facts. Herbert Kickl was FPÖ interior minister for 521 days. And the current ÖVP Interior Minister Gerhard Karner has been in office for around 968 days. If you divide the number of deportations by the number of days in office, then there is a tie. Both Kickl and Karner have managed 33 deportations per day.

(Bild: Horst Einöder/Flashpictures, APA/Georg Hochmuth)

Karner has been campaigning for deportations to Syria and Afghanistan for more than 18 months. An alliance of eight countries has now been formed. Germany in particular has become a strong ally and is holding bilateral talks with Afghanistan's neighboring countries to enable deportations via this route.

Where the differences lie
There have been departures to Syria without coercion in recent years - around 150 to Syria in 2023 and the first half of 2024.
However, there are major differences between Karner and Kickl when it comes to the recognition rate. In 2018, this was 47.6% under Kickl. In 2023, however, the rate under Karner was only 22.6 percent ...