OPINION
Anyone who saw the results of the last Austrian legislative election, which took place on September 29th, 2024, knows it was the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (aka the FPÖ) who came in first place with 28.8% of the votes.
Since then, Austria has spent the last more-than-three-months with the FPÖ denied their chance to form a government.
This after other parties refused to partner with them and after President Alexander Van der Bellen decided, rather than task the FPÖ with forming a government, he would give that job to the man hardly anyone in Austria still wants in power — recently-resigned Chancellor Karl Nehammer, and his party the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP).
Of course, as we know now, that worked out as well as any non-politician with more than two brain cells would have guessed it would, with none of the parties (the ÖVP, the Greens (Grüne), the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) or NEOS) willing to partner with the ÖVP.
Herbert Kickl and the FPÖ may soon head Austria’s government
So now, after three wasted months and still no new Austrian government in sight, President Van der Bellen has just tasked the FPÖ and its leader Herbert Kickl with the job of forming a government.
Laughably, after three months of the ÖVP trying to form a government themselves, and failing, that party’s new head, Christian Stocker, now says they might be willing to form one with the FPÖ.
You really couldn’t make this stuff up.
Why I support the FPÖ being in government
Now, personally, while I don’t agree with some of the policies the FPÖ is putting forward, I do agree with a majority of them.
But, more importantly, considering the FPÖ were the only party to stand up for my right to not get an experimental Covid vaccine, and were the only party that pointed out the economic disaster the Covid policies implemented by the ÖVP and the Greens would cause (and, yes, the FPÖ and Herbert Kickl were correct), if I could vote in Austria, the FPÖ would still be the party I would vote for.
Throw in that one of their planned policies is for the remigration of foreigners deemed to be destructive to Austrian society, as well as to suspend the right to asylum, and I am on board with that as well.
After all, I immigrated to Austria legally, love my life here, and always want Austria to be as safe and successful as possible, and not being subjected to those who may wish the country and the people living here harm.
That Herbert Kickl and the FPÖ also want to end the sanctions against Russia (they are more detrimental to Austria and the rest of Europe than they are to Russia), and want to remove some powers from the bloated and increasingly authoritarian EU and bring them back to Austria, I am all for that too.
Oh, and yep, they are big supporters of Israel as well.
Herbert Kickl pledges to “govern Austria honestly”
Thankfully, if the FPÖ and the ÖVP can come to some agreement — for the good of Austria rather than the benefit of themselves — we may soon have a functioning government that will work hard to get Austria back on track — both socially and economically.
In my opinion, they can’t be worse than what we have been subjected to for the last four years.
As for Herbert Kickl, he has just pledged to “govern Austria honestly” while also saying, in any political partnership with the ÖVP, there will have to be “an awareness of who won the election, and who finished second and isn’t the winner”.
He has also said, if the FPÖ and the ÖVP cannot come to some type of agreement, it is obvious there will have to be a new election, and that he and the FPÖ are ready for that as well.
Considering recent polls show, if there was another election, the FPÖ would likely win even more seats, it might behoove the ÖVP to buckle down and get this deal done, eh?
