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A week and a half after the debacle of the Vienna elections, the FPÖ’s federal committees met on Wednesday. The consequences of the staff were not in the room, all the participants assured before the start of the meeting. Party leader Norbert Hofer only wanted to discuss content and organization when he arrived at the federal office at Friedrich-Schmidt-Platz in Vienna.
He then reported the results at an afternoon press conference: It was primarily the misconduct of former FPÖ chief Heinz Christian Strache that caused the party to drop from 30 to 7 percent in the Vienna elections, Hofer said. For this reason, “very, very strict” rules of conduct will be introduced so that this can no longer happen in the future, Hofer said.
Freedom, social affairs, security
But it is also important to generate changes in terms of content. They did well with the working class, especially with the Serbs and the Turks, as the party leader emphasized. However, there was a great weakness in the educated class. “We have to aim higher with our themes and dig deeper into the content,” Hofer said. In future, each individual FPÖ mandate should be “more expert” in their respective field.
The party chairman named “freedom” as the top three future issues for the party, especially in the context of the crown pandemic. Social responsibility and security. “But security concerns not only the armed forces and the police, but also the question of which people we invite to Austria.”
The danger of political Islam should not be underestimated, Hofer stressed. His party’s goal is “healthy and reasonable growth based on good content,” he said.
Party leaders had already stressed since election day that Hofer and the leader of the Vienna state party, Dominik Nepp, would not be moved. On Tuesday, the club’s president, Herbert Kickl, confirmed this in the ORF “Report.” “There will be no debate with the president,” he said. Blaming Hofer for the defeat would be a lost issue. Several top representatives of the federal states joined the same horn on Wednesday. “The way the FPÖ is set up also fits in,” said Salzburg state party leader Marlene Svazek when she arrived. Gernot Damann from Carinthia emphasized that a realignment “is not necessary in terms of content or personnel.” The problems can be related to a name, he referred, without naming it, to Strache. Nepp said almost nothing and only promised a “completely regular meeting”.
Country wishes
Hofer himself – he said goodbye to the party presidency in Burgenland because he wants to dedicate himself more to the federal government – was calm about the journalistic speculation about the personnel. He had “interesting years” behind him, “you can take a lot.” The politician stressed that the state leaders of the party have a lot to say, it is very important, but decisions must be made in the presidium and the board. Tyrol regional chief Markus Abwerzger recently asked for more voice. The wishes of the federal states also came from Upper Austria’s Manfred Haimbuchner, who, as the ruling party, will have to vote in state elections next year. He has called for the FPÖ to become a “serious and constructive right-wing party”.(rös / apa)
