Kickl announces FPÖ-Joker for the 2028 presidential election!

Kickl announces FPÖ-Joker for the 2028 presidential election!

The chairman of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), Herbert Kickl, announced at a party conference that the FPÖ would like to nominate its own candidate for the Federal President election in 2028. So far, however, the name of this "joker" has remained unmentioned. In an interview with the APA, Kickl also expressed his views on coalitions as well as the neutrality of Austria and the relationships with Russia. The FPÖ records an upswing in the surveys and could reach up to 35 percent of the votes. Kickl pursues ambitious goals and strives to be perceived as a "folk chancellor". In doing so, he describes his project as a "renewal project" for the Republic, which is supposed to include speech democratization and a shift in power in favor of the population.

With regard to the future political landscape, Kickl continues to see the opportunity to become part of a government after the next National Council election. Despite his rare summer appearances, he emphasizes that he was active behind the scenes. He rejects speculation about a change to the Carinthian state policy, while he rates the willingness to open the Carinthian SPÖ to the FPÖ as positive. He also expects a lot from the upcoming committees of investigation that will deal with the Causa Pilnacek and the Coronama measures. Kickl also expresses criticism of dealing with corona pandemic and climate change, which he sees as factors that have contributed to the rise of right parties. In foreign policy, he advocates Austria's greater neutrality and an approximation to Russia because he sees a "time window" for positive changes.

Coalition negotiations and new elections

After the failure of the coalition negotiations between FPÖ and the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), Kickl calls for new elections. He underlines that "today is not every day, I come back, no question" - an indication that he did not give up his ambitions for the Chancellery. The FPÖ show current surveys at around 34 percent, an increase compared to 28.85 percent in the previous National Council election. The FPÖ general secretary, Christian Hafenecker, describes new elections as the "only honest solution" for a stable government. The dispute over the distribution of department was decisive for the failure of the negotiations; The ÖVP claimed several central ministries, which led to a disagreement between the parties.

Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig and SPÖ boss Andreas Babler are willing to talk about for a coalition with the ÖVP. While the NEOS signaled support for a possible ÖVP-SPÖ coalition, the idea of ​​an expert government that has been brought into play by Babler is also discussed. However, a minority government from the ÖVP and NEOS is considered not very realistic. In this uncertain political climate, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen also emphasized how important a stable government majority is.

The situation for the FPÖ

The FPÖ became the strongest force in the parliamentary election in September with 28.85 percent, but initially none of the other larger parties tried to form a coalition with them. The coalition talks between the FPÖ and ÖVP were on the brink, since there are significant differences in both the distribution of department and in fundamental political issues. Kickl, who could strive for cooperation with the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as a chancellor, was clearly shown in his opposition to the current government in the face of the inexperienced asylum law and the different EU policy.

The coming weeks promise numerous political twists, since the FPÖ can continue to expect significant growth in new elections, so that the balance of power in Austria could soon change significantly.