The Freedom Party has now also filed a criminal complaint for trivializing National Socialism. Various injunctions against the association, which is backed by former Green and NEOS politician Robert Luschnik, have so far been unsuccessful.
The video directed against Kickl refers to his claim to become “People’s Chancellor” in the event of an election victory. This term was also used to describe Hitler. In the short clip, the FPÖ leader gradually transforms into a National Socialist dictator – a comparison that the Blues strictly reject. They have not only filed a cease-and-desist suit, but also see it as a trivialization of Nazi ideology, which is a criminal offense.
Luschnik sees “active educational work”
The video was created by the “Platform Democracy Austria”, which is run by Luschnik, among others. He was once the federal manager of the Greens and later of the NEOS. He is currently active as a political consultant. After the first lawsuits, he protested against any party-political attribution and sees the distribution of the video as “active educational work”. “Even Mr. Kickl cannot sue away the historical facts,” he said.
FPÖ General Secretary Christian Hafenecker nevertheless sees a “green mudslinging campaign” behind the video before the National Council elections. The comparison with Hitler is “tasteless and completely unfounded”. Even before the complaint for trivializing the Nazis was filed, legal action had been taken under media law. The video, which has been circulating online in several versions since the end of May in a version that was initially not made public, is still easy to find.
The provisions of the ban law were only tightened at the end of last year. Since then, any trivialization of the Holocaust has been punishable, and no longer just “gross” trivialization as was previously the case. Only the FPÖ voted against the amendment in the National Council.
