"Clean up"

FPÖ member throws away rainbow flag – and leftists rage

In a video, Upper Austrian FPÖ member of parliament Michael Gruber rails against "left-wing, degenerate politics" and throws out a rainbow color.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Instagram.com)

An Instagram video by Upper Austrian FPÖ member of parliament Michael Gruber is causing outrage. In his preference vote campaign, he rails against "left-wing, degenerate politics" under the title "Cleaning up for Austria" and throws away a rainbow flag in the process.

Gruber also rails against the "early sexualization of our children" and "rainbow there, rainbow there". This is "for the dustbin", where Gruber eventually throws a rainbow flag.

This Instagram video caused a political stir:

"We want a Manderl and a Weiberl"
 The candidate for the National Council stands in front of a crossed-out "LGBTQ" lettering. The FPÖ is running to "bring about normality for our society".

For him, this normality looks like this: "We want a man and a woman and then there will be children. And then our society will have a future".

The rainbow flag is not an official symbol, but an ideological statement for left-wing social policy.

OÖ-Landtagsabgeordneter Michael Gruber (FPÖ)

SPÖ and Greens demand resignation
The FPÖ really needs to "clean up its act", commented SPÖ equal treatment spokesperson Mario Lindner. He called on the blue party leader Herbert Kickl not only to distance himself from Gruber, but also to "ensure that he resigns as quickly as possible".

Green LGBTIQ+ spokesperson David Stögmüller is also calling for Gruber to resign quickly and for Kickl to make a statement, because "the rainbow flag is so much more than just a flag, it is a symbol of the community's long struggle for equality and a life free of discrimination and violence".

Statement of facts submitted
On Thursday afternoon, Stögmüller submitted a statement of facts to the Linz public prosecutor's office. This was to check whether the video constituted incitement to hatred and, if necessary, initiate criminal proceedings. The post "shows the targeted disparagement of the LGBTIQ* community by crumpling a rainbow flag and making discriminatory statements. It is obvious that the intention is to violate the human dignity of this group and to disparage them in the court of public opinion," the complaint reads.

"There is one flag for all Austrians and it is red-white-red"
Gruber himself sees no reason to be upset. "The rainbow flag is not an official symbol, but an ideological statement for left-wing social policy. Criticism of this policy is legitimate and necessary," he says. He continues: "There is one flag for all Austrians and that is red-white-red."