Only a two-person constellation with the Freedom at the top is a “guarantee for real change in Austria,” he said in the APA interview. Should there be coalition negotiations with the SPÖ, Kickl would not care who currently chairs the party. As chairman of the Freedom Party and future top candidate for his party, he still sees himself as undisputed.
Of course, the goal is still to make the FPÖ the strongest force in the federal government. In addition, one must become so important that a two-party coalition without the Freedom Party is not possible, because “the alternative would then be some form of traffic light. And if you don’t want that, you have to make the FPÖ the strongest force”. He now finds the motto of other parties interesting: “Not with the FPÖ!” In this regard, he has already experienced a wide variety of variants. In the meantime, the opposite of what was said months ago is being heard from the ÖVP.
“I’m not afraid of anyone”
With whom he would like to govern most, Kickl leaves completely open, one is “completely stable” in this attitude: “Because unlike some other parties, it goes without saying for me that one has talks with all the other parties. Whether one comes together , is another question. If the Freedom Party becomes the strongest, then I would talk to the representatives of both parties in the order of their size – whoever the SPÖ has had as party chairman up to that point.”
Kickl has no preferences regarding a counterpart in the SPÖ. “I don’t care who we’re dealing with,” he says, referring to the outcome of the internal match between Pamela Rendi-Wagner, Hans Peter Doskozil and Andreas Babler. “I’m not afraid of any of the three. All three are leftists. And by the way, all three are also bigwigs, you have to say that.” Kickl sees himself firmly in the saddle. “There is only one FPÖ and that is the Kickl-FPÖ.”
Kickl does not agree with Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s (ÖVP) suggestion that social benefits should be linked to the length of stay in Austria, since this is also a matter of worsening for Austrian citizens should they stay abroad for a longer period of time. “You have to go the Hungarian way,” says the FPÖ leader, “those who come to the country illegally have no right to apply for asylum and therefore get absolutely nothing from the state.” This would be a real end to the incentive system.
Kickl also has other incentives against the shortage of skilled workers than the ÖVP. “People just do the math and come to the conclusion that they will no longer be able to own property anyway and at the end of their lives they will end up at minimum income anyway. So they are now trying to make something out of their lives.” . Therefore, people would have to earn accordingly, for example through tax cuts – but also through a statutory minimum wage, should this not be brought about by the social partners. “However, the state must also support the economy so that it can afford it. Otherwise companies will probably migrate to low-wage countries.”
Kickl: neutrality will be “ruined”
Kickl continues to support the boycott of Zelenskyj’s speech in parliament. “For me, it’s not about showing solidarity with Ukraine, it’s about upholding Austrian neutrality. Where else should I be neutral if not in the event of a war? We are convinced that neutrality is a model for the future and not an obsolete model . That distinguishes the FPÖ from all other parties.” It is irresponsible to destroy and ruin neutrality in a few months.
Of course, Kickl is happy about the last state election results – in Carinthia there was a small plus, in Lower Austria even a government participation. So there were voices who had believed the freedom far less capable. “We refute that from election to election and are well on our way.” The best result after the “Haider era” was achieved in Carinthia. He expects a historic result for Salzburg, where the SPÖ could be overtaken. However, Kickl does not want to “scream” anything.
The result in Lower Austria cannot be overestimated, “also in its national political significance,” says the FPÖ chairman. He only finds the satirical action of the “daily press” on the tavern bonus to a limited extent funny: “I don’t understand how people try to do something badly or ridicule what is common practice in other federal states.” There is a big problem in rural areas. “An inn belongs to an intact village life.”
