DÖW: Right-wing extremism

Prominent FPÖ mentions in the three-digit range

The FPÖ features prominently in the new right-wing extremism report. Links between the Freedom Party and the far-right scene are described in several places.

(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER)

The new DÖW right-wing extremism report for the years 2020 to 2023 focuses on the FPÖ: the party's links to the far-right scene are mentioned in numerous places. The party is part of the so-called "mosaic right". The far-right activities are described in detail on 196 pages. The SPÖ and the Greens are sharply critical.

For a long time, it was unclear whether the almost 200-page report on right-wing extremism by the Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance (DÖW) would be published at all. Shortly before the change of government, Ministers Johannes Rauch (Greens) and Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) released it on Friday with the title "Right-wing extremism in Austria 2023 - taking into account the years 2020 to 2022".

FPÖ appears 231 times
The chapter on German nationalist associations states, for example, that there is a "strong personal anchoring" in the FPÖ and a "historical close relationship" with the FPÖ. According to the report, the nationalist milieu, which also includes student fraternities, is a traditional "pillar of Austrian right-wing extremism". Although the fraternities are a marginal phenomenon in society, they have a "certain political influence" due to their contacts with the FPÖ. They are also a cadre forge of the Freedom Party, as some of their parliamentarians are fraternity members.

Close relationship with the Identitarians
The FPÖ's contacts with the Identitarian Movement (IBÖ) are also an issue. The DÖW classifies them as part of the "New Right". The Identitarians appear through activism, media work in digital channels and fundraising. This allows the IBÖ to generate attention and influence political discourse "via the lever" of the FPÖ. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl had described the Identitarians as an "interesting project worth supporting" or an "NGO from the right".

The Austrian right-wing extremist Martin Sellner is the leading head of the New Right. He used to be the spokesperson for the Identitarian movement in Austria.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Alex HALADA)

The relationship between the Identitarians and the ÖVP is also mentioned in the report. The People's Party is seen as weak and untrustworthy. However, some of its positions were also praised. In 2021, for example, Identitarian Martin Sellner was pleased with a statement by ÖVP party chairman August Wöginger on migration. The report also includes the name of Vienna ÖVP chairman Karl Mahrer, in whose statements the Identitarians recognized some of their arguments. Member of the National Council Gudrun Kugler is again mentioned in connection with "right-wing Catholicism".

Corona, music and soccer in the report
There are also links between right-wing extremism and the coronavirus protests. Here, the report recently refers to the influence of the FPÖ. It explains the term "mosaic right", a combination of alternative media, activist groups and the party-political arm. The Freedom Youth in particular would play a role here.

Other chapters of the right-wing extremism report deal with international interdependence and currents in migrant communities, such as the Turkish community. Right-wing extremists in the music scene and among soccer fans are also mentioned.

The right-wing extremism report is part of the Turkish-Green government program. It was reintroduced after a good 20 years. The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice have commissioned the DÖW to compile the report. The current contract with the DÖW includes a five-year waiver of termination.

Criticism from the SPÖ and the Greens
SPÖ leader Andreas Babler called the results "highly alarming". He said it was necessary to do everything possible to combat right-wing extremism. "The FPÖ is attacking the democratic pillars of the Republic, the independent judiciary and independent media and does not shy away from encroaching on personal freedoms," said Babler. "It is high time that the right-wing extremism report, which was abolished by the ÖVP and FPÖ in 2001, is finally available again," said Sabine Schatz, the SPÖ spokesperson for the culture of remembrance, in a press release.

"The fact that the FPÖ features prominently in the report is anything but a coincidence," said Lukas Hammer, the Greens' spokesperson on right-wing extremism. The Freedom Party is the parliamentary arm of the extreme right: "A party like that has no place in a government."