Manuel Litzke:

“Of course I’m a fan of Herbert Kickl”

Manuel Litzke (left) won the second mandate for the Vorarlberg FPÖ. This also pleased party leader Bitschi and Vorarlberg's "blue number 1" in the National Council, Thomas Spalt.

(Bild: sos, Krone KREATIV)

Vorarlberg's FPÖ provincial party leader Christof Bitschi and his leadership team put their faith in young people and gave 25-year-old student Manuel Litzke an electable seat in the National Council elections. He snatched the second mandate for the Blue Party.  

"Krone": Mr. Litzke, how surprised are you that you won the mandate? 
Manuel Litzke: I am indeed very surprised - but very positively. I am really pleased.

Are you now interrupting your studies in Vienna and concentrating entirely on politics? 
I'm studying business administration at the University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna and have just completed my Bachelor's degree there. The plan is for me to complete my Master's degree. That will be a little more difficult now, but I think it's doable.

 
How did you convince the members of your regional party to give you this promising position on the list behind Thomas Spalt? 
I think that the members of the Freedom Youth in Vorarlberg, of which I am the chairman, have done a very good job in recent years and that this was also perceived as such within the party. Those responsible certainly wanted to send a strong signal to young people and show that this age group is important to them.

What issues do you want to campaign for in the National Council? 
Housing is a very pressing issue in the coming years. We need to create affordable housing. At state level, we are calling for special starter homes for young people, targeted at young adults and young families. Another important point is the issue of migration. We want a certain level of security to be guaranteed again in certain hotspots that have developed across the country. That's why we need an appropriate security policy and remigration.

Are you a Kickl fan? 
Of course I am. We have achieved an amazing result, the best result in history - and he is responsible for that.

Possible coalition partners have not yet called out loudly. How likely is it that your chairman will become chancellor? 
The voters have cast a clear vote, and that has to be accepted. A relative majority of Austrians want Chancellor Kickl. I can't understand the criticism of him. He has proven in recent years that he is a person who is 100 percent committed to the entire population. That's why nobody needs to be afraid of him.

Is the federal FPÖ under Herbert Kickl different from the provincial FPÖ under Christof Bitschi? 
I think that other issues are more pressing at state level. In Vorarlberg, there is more of a focus on the housing issue I mentioned earlier, as prices have risen more sharply than in other federal states. The priorities are different. Thematically, there is no difference.

How did you join the FPÖ? 
In the course of the refugee crisis in 2015, I saw that developments were happening that I didn't approve of. I became a party member in 2016 because I believe that the FPÖ has the right answers to the major migration issue.

What do you do in your free time? 
I am a passionate ice hockey fan. Apart from that, I enjoy reading - from novels to non-fiction. I have a lot of books.