Austria’s longest-serving EU conservative to leave Brussels behind

European Parliament Vice-President Othmar Karas has announced his intention to retire from EU politics after 25 years in service, citing his party’s rightward drift and Austria’s lack of constructive engagement in the bloc.

Karas has been the face of Austria’s centre-right ÖVP in Brussels for more than two decades, but while he welcomed thousands of visitors to the European Parliament, his party colleagues in Vienna were drifting further right – a direction he vociferously opposed.

Now, the seasoned veteran has decided to hang up his boots. “After 25 years in the European Parliament, I will not stand again in the upcoming EU elections,” Karas said on Thursday, citing three main reasons.

One of his main grievances is that Austria, once a driving force in the EU, has become one of the countries holding up progress. “Just look at the Schengen veto, the behaviour of the SPÖ during President Zelenskyy’s speech in the National Council, or the increasingly outrageous anti-European policies of the FPÖ,” he said.

Another reason for his departure is his party’s shift on immigration policy, he added. “It really gets on my nerves to be called a ‘leftist’ by some people because I stand up for men, women and children not drowning in the Mediterranean,” he stressed.

However, the nail in the coffin was the centre-right’s inability to match the far-right on concrete policies. “The will to argue seems to be lacking. In the end, this only strengthens those who do not want solutions. Namely the [far-right] FPÖ,” said Karas.

Karas’s departure means an immediate loss of influence for Austria’s few conservatives: for all his disputes with more conservative party colleagues, the senior Austrian politician was well respected. The ÖVP is expected to look to more junior talent to take the helm.

Karas’ political future remains uncertain. Although he will not stand in the upcoming EU elections, even as an independent, he has not ruled out further political involvement.

(Nikolaus J. Kurmayer | Euractiv.de)