This week the committee of inquiry into the red-blue abuse of power is meeting once more, although the SPÖ has so far been left out. The first person expected to provide information on Wednesday is the President of the Court of Auditors, Margit Kraker. She had complained regarding the lack of access to files from the social department – specifically, this concerns the time when Beate Hartinger-Klein (FP) was in office. The former blue minister is also scheduled to testify on the same day. Hartinger-Klein had already canceled once, which is why she was threatened with a fine if she didn’t show up.
On Thursday, FP chairman Herbert Kickl will be questioned regarding his time as Interior Minister. The VP faction leader in the U-Committee, Andreas Hanger, announced that he would shed light on the “Kickl system”. Kickl created a “privilege network” and enabled simple cabinet employees to earn a gross monthly salary of 10,000 to 11,000 euros. Kickl’s former office manager in the Ministry of the Interior, Reinhard Teufel, is also expected. He is now FP club chairman in Lower Austria.
Hanger is already inviting people to a press conference today. It is also likely to be regarding Russia’s possible influence on the Interior Ministry under Kickl’s term of office. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (VP) had previously pointed out that an “illegal raid” had taken place in the BVT under Kickl and that the FPÖ had a friendship treaty with Russia at that time.
EU Commissioner for Remigration
The FP state party conference took place in Vienna on Saturday. In this context, Kickl described Karner as a “blind creep” and spoke of “black losers” and “red-green weirdos”. He was not referring to the espionage case, but to migration, which Karner was not stopping.
The liberal EU leading candidate Harald Vilimsky made a sweeping attack: He called for an EU commissioner for remigration. The term is used by the Identitarian Movement, which is classified as right-wing extremist. If there was a red button to get Austria out of the EU madness, he wouldn’t hesitate for a millisecond to press it, Vilimsky raged. This does not mean Öxit, an exit of Austria from the EU. Rather, he is concerned with slimming down the EU.
The other parties reacted indignantly. Reinhold Lopatka, VP’s leading candidate for the EU elections, described Vilimsky as an EU destroyer who is now showing his true colors. “The FPÖ apparently wants to fulfill its contract with Putin and destroy the EU,” warned the Neos’ top EU candidate, Helmut Brandstätter.
