Far-right leader Herbert Kickl (FPÖ) insists his party should govern at the head of a two-way coalition following the 2024 election for which he is currently leading the opinion polls.
Only a two-party constellation with the Freedom Party at the top would be a “guarantor for real change in Austria,” Kickl told APA in an interview.
With his party polling at around 30%, Kickl wants to mobilise voters to avoid a German-style government, where a three-way “traffic light” holds power.
The far-right must become so powerful that a two-party coalition without the FPÖ is not feasible because “the alternative would then be some form of traffic light. And if you don’t want that, you have to make the FPÖ the strongest force,” he said.
Other parties are increasingly showing openness to governing with the far-right, he added in an obvious nod to the conservative ÖVP (EPP)’s continuous flirtation with the far-right – which could be strengthened as the ruling conservatives and their current coalition partner, the Greens, are increasingly drifting apart on policy.
Kickl would govern with either the centre-right or the centre-left, he added, though this would only depend on who placed higher among voters.
Should the far-right win next year, that would likely make Kickl Austria’s first-ever far-right head of state.
(Nikolaus J. Kurmayer | EURACTIV.de)
Source: euractiv.com
