
Austrian far-right victory foreshadows dystopia for Muslim population
For the first time since the end of the Nazi regime, the leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) – a political party that was established by ex-Nazis for ex-Nazis, and that has grown to become a major force in Austrian politics since the early 1990s – has the chance to not only join a government as a partner but to actually lead the government, with its party leader becoming the future chancellor.
This happened three months after the party emerged as the main victor in the national parliamentary elections and the collapse of coalition talks among the conservatives, Social Democrats, and liberals. My first and only encounter with Herbert Kickl, the current leader of the far-right FPO, took place in 2009. At the time, he was the party’s general secretary, and we debated the Swiss minaret ban during a live TV broadcast.
Kickl was the brainchild of some of the first anti-Muslim slogans the party adopted following its stark focus on Islam in 2005
Unlike many other far-right politicians from his party whom I’ve debated over the years, Kickl stood out. Most of them, while espousing controversial views, maintained a level of personal approachability, and their positions seemed calculated rather than deeply held. Kickl, however, was different. His rhetoric felt deeply personal, laced with a palpable disdain – if not outright hatred – towards Muslims, accompanied by calls for discriminatory policies.
This article was written by Bridge Initiative Senior Researcher Farid Hafez and first appeared in The Middle East Eye 26 January 2025 13:33 GMT