Isolated again?

FPÖ success: “headache” for intelligence services

Under Interior Minister Kickl, international services have restricted their cooperation with Austria.

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER, AP, krone.at-Grafik)

The FPÖ's election victory in the national elections is causing "new headaches" for the allied intelligence services. While the FPÖ's last participation in government, including the BVT scandal surrounding then Interior Minister Herbert Kickl (FPÖ), ensured that Austria was cut off from other intelligence services, a similar scenario is looming again. 

The online portal "Intelligence Online", which specializes in intelligence services, recently wrote. "There are these concerns, which have been circulated from several sides," confirms security policy expert Nicolas Stockhammer. "The mistrust of the FPÖ's possible participation in government is understandable in that there was a major BVT raid in 2018, where confidential data from friendly services also became the subject of court hearings or investigations," says the terrorism and extremism researcher at Danube University Krems.

Proximity to Russia a thorn in the side of secret services
A second factor is the "affinity to Russia" that some parts of the FPÖ are said to have, so there is a fear that sensitive information relating to Russia and the war in Ukraine could be leaked or that people could be used as "agents of the Kremlin". Of course, there is the possibility that the party will "clearly differentiate itself and prove that these concerns are not justified". At the Bern Club, the informal association of European intelligence services, "everything works on the basis of trust".

The FPÖ agreement with Putin's party in particular has already caused international partners headaches - a party delegation traveled to Moscow in 2016:

It's all a matter of trust
Although FPÖ participation in government is "not conducive to trust", Swiss intelligence expert Adrian Hänni does not believe that there will be another break with the Bernese Club like in 2018/2019. The historian from the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich sees Austria's current situation as "not quite as dramatic." Cooperation between the intelligence services takes place in committees "where no political signals are sent". The only criterion is "whether one trusts the other, that the information is secure".

Austria is trying to regain trust
Hänni sees "a completely different starting point" here than after the raid on the former Federal Office for State Protection and Counterterrorism (BVT) in 2018. The subsequent security review by the Berner Club revealed "horrendous security deficiencies" in the Federal Office for State Protection. In addition, the American services already knew in 2017 that there was a leak in the BVT, Hänni says, referring to the Egisto Ott case.

In the meantime, the security deficiencies have "probably been largely rectified". Stockhammer adds that the reorganization of state security in the Directorate for State Security and Intelligence (DSN) has also restored a great deal of trust.

Information on Russian sleepers reserved
According to Hänni, there are "gradations as to which information is shared and which is not" in the intelligence cooperation of the Bern Club, which includes the 27 EU states plus Switzerland and Norway. Even today, Austria is probably "not fully included". For example, not all information about Russian spies and methods of "Russian sleepers" as well as sensitive questions about Russia or the war in Ukraine are made available to Austria, the expert assumes.

It is quite possible that "even less information will be shared in future". Delays in the transfer of information are also conceivable.

Dependent on outside help
Austria is "dependent" on international cooperation in the intelligence sector, Stockhammer emphasizes. For example, Austria is dependent on "outside help" when it comes to accessing closed messenger service communications or undermining online services such as Telegram.

This was demonstrated, for example, by warnings of possible attempted attacks on the Rainbow Parade last year and St. Stephen's Cathedral around Christmas as well as the Taylor Swift concert in August. "In all three examples, information from friendly intelligence services led to these terrorist attacks being prevented in advance," explained Stockhammer.

Terror warnings, but probably in any case
Both Hänni and Stockhammer are convinced that Austria would continue to receive such threat reports in any case. The Swiss expert expects that Austria "will not be excluded" in the area of terrorism, radicalized threats and exchanges on methods of combating terrorism and extremism. Even "opponents" are warned of imminent terrorist attacks. Stockhammer recalls the warning issued by the USA before the attack on the Crocus City Hall concert hall in a suburb of Moscow in March. Only Russia apparently did not take the warning seriously.