Vilimsky expects the Blues to get around 30 percent in the election, but what is much more important is that the international alliance can become at least the second strongest, if not the strongest, force, he explained at the press conference.
“In the first wave of posters, we don’t want to distract with a portrait; they should concentrate on the content,” explained Vilimsky. Next to the slogan you can see black and white images – in the middle EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj from a photo in which they hug each other in greeting and it looks as if they are kissing. Next to it is a refugee boat, a tank, a syringe under the keyword “Corona chaos” and wind turbines next to “eco-communism”.
FPÖ as a “patriotic challenger”
“It’s enough because the sum of political madness has reached a level where you can only press the stop button,” Vilimsky once more used the image of a “red button.” The “Gang of Four” made up of ÖVP, SPÖ, Greens and NEOS would want to demolish the state and hand Austria over to international interests. The “Four-Party Alliance of Austria Destroyers” would face the FPÖ, the “patriotic challenger”.
He called for a “radical slimming model” for the EU that would halve the size of the Commission and Parliament. In addition, competencies should be brought back to the national parliaments and direct democracy should take precedence over Union law. “No Öxit, at most an exit from madness. More red-white-red, peaceful cooperation and away from centralism and the dictatorship of corporations,” Vilimsky further demanded.
Election target: 30 percent and more
When asked regarding the election goal, Vilimsky said “the more, the better”, it should be 30 percent or more. More important, however, is the international alliance of liberal, center-right and conservative politicians in order to be able to implement the promises: “This alliance will be very broad and will be good for Europe.” The blue leading candidate estimates that it might become the second strongest or even the strongest force.
General Secretary Michael Schnedlitz saw Austria already in the middle of an intensive election campaign: “It’s all regarding manipulating voters with dirty stories. It’s been the same game since Jörg Haider: Whenever a politician becomes too dangerous for the system, they try to mess it up.” But the super election year offers the opportunity for a change: “The decision as to whether things should continue like this for five years at the European and Austrian level. (…) It’s regarding nothing less than a liberation for the people. There are many problems to solve. The system has become embedded at all levels.” Schnedlitz identifies problems with “mass immigration”, because illegal immigrants now make up a “tenth federal state”. “What will come of it if an Interior Minister can’t even get the problems under control in one district, keyword favorites,” the Secretary General also said.
Sharp criticism of Doskozil
When it comes to migration, state party leader Alexander Petschnig stated that Burgenland was the main party affected by the “failure of the EU” and federal policy: “The failures and inaction have an impact on the national and regional level.” He also criticized Governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ). Although he mimes the hardliner, he is a “security policy foam bomber”. In his role as state police director, Doskozil wrote in a working paper in 2015 that comprehensive border controls might not be implemented while maintaining proportionality. “You have to come to the conclusion that the state governor doesn’t want to secure the border,” said Petschnig.
