Politics in upheaval: FPÖ boss Kickl demands government!

Politics in upheaval: FPÖ boss Kickl demands government!

In the middle of tense political discussions, the FPÖ under Herbert Kickl made clear demands on government formation after its election victory in Austria. In a statement before Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, Kickl said that the FPÖ wants to lead the next government, where he himself runs as Chancellor. This announcement comes in the course of a violent competition in which the freedoms achieved an impressive 28.8 percent of the vote in the last election, an increase of 12.7 percentage points. The ruling ÖVP, on the other hand, had to accept a significant decrease in 26.3 percent, while the other parties also lost approval. Kickl expressed that a collaboration with the FPÖ was stretched out of hand, but so far none of the other parties shows interest in a coalition, such as Zeit.de Report.

While the FPÖ is apparently on the way to forming the government, Kickl sharply criticizes his political competitors, who in his opinion ignore the voice of voters. Meanwhile, politics is under pressure to introduce austerity measures because the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS have agreed to decide on the next year no salary increases for federal politicians. Kickl criticized this as a coward and also called for a zero -wage round at the state level in order to set a sign of solidarity with the population stressed by inflation. In Salzburg, on the other hand, a salary increase for civil servants has already been decided by 3.5 percent, which puts Kickl and the FPÖ in a delicate location. The FPÖ state party leader Marlene Svazek reported that such a “zero-wage round” compared to other professional groups that earn significantly more would be disproportionate and would devalue the work of the state government, such as Today.at reported.