On the eve of the legislative elections in Austria, in which the FPÖ will favor, the Austrian newspaper The standard reported on Saturday, September 28, that a Nazi chant had been revived at the funeral of a former elected official of the far-right party. The news caused outrage in Austria.
The Freedom Party (FPÖ), founded by former Nazis, is well ahead of the ruling conservatives in polls ahead of Sunday’s election. It obtains 27%, just ahead of the ÖVP (25%).
During the campaign, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl often used terms reminiscent of the party’s origins, in particular calling himself the future. “Volkskanzler” (“People’s Chancellor”), as he referred to Adolf Hitler in the 1930s.
On Friday, several members of the far-right party, including two parliamentarians, attended the funeral of a former elected FPÖ official, Walter Sucher, during which a Nazi song was sung, it was reported. The standard. The newspaper published a video it received to accompany its article. It shows people attending a burial in a cemetery, standing around a grave and singing lyrics that evoke “the holy German Reich”.
The FPÖ did not respond to a request for comment from Agence France-Presse, but told the Austrian news agency APA that the party was not involved in organizing the funeral. “from a private person”. “Wanting to politically co-opt the burial of an individual – in which the FPÖ did not participate in any way, neither in the organization nor in the implementation – is disrespectful and pathetic”depending on the match.
“Alarm bells for Austria”
The Union of Jewish Students of Austria (JÖH) announced that it had filed a complaint over the video, which it called “Alarm campaign for Austria”in a press release. Parties from across the political spectrum have also condemned the video.
In “I have no qualms about associating with right-wing extremists”to form a government. He urged the population to vote for the ÖVP “strengthen the center”.
The leader of the Austrian Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), Andreas Babler, judged“a democratic state cannot exist” with the FPÖ.
The far-right party is regularly accused of racism and anti-Semitism, which it denies. Under Kickl’s leadership, the party relied on anger at immigration, inflation and restrictions linked to Covid-19 to win over voters.
