On the eve of the Austrian legislative elections where the FPÖ is favored, the Austrian daily The standard reported on Saturday, September 28, that a Nazi chant had been taken up at the funeral of a former elected official from the far-right party. The news caused outrage in Austria.
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The Freedom Party (FPÖ), founded by former Nazis, is a short head ahead of the ruling conservatives in polls for Sunday’s vote. It is given at 27%, just ahead of the ÖVP (25%).
During the campaign, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl often used terms recalling the origins of the party, notably by calling himself the future “People’s Chancellor” (“People’s Chancellor”), as Adolf Hitler was referred to in the 1930s.
On Friday, several members of the far-right party, including two parliamentarians, attended the funeral of a former FPÖ elected official, Walter Sucher, during which a Nazi song was sung, according to The standard. The newspaper released a video it received to accompany its article. It shows people attending a burial in a cemetery, standing around a grave and singing lyrics evoking “the holy German Reich”.
The FPÖ did not respond to a request for comment from Agence France-Presse, but told Austrian news agency APA that the party was not involved in organizing the funeral “of a private person”. “Wanting to politically co-opt the burial of a private person – for which the FPÖ was not involved in any way, either in the organization or the implementation – is disrespectful and pathetic”depending on the party.
“Alarm bells for Austria”
The Union of Austrian Jewish Students (JÖH) announced that it had filed a complaint about the video, which it called “Alarm bell for Austria”in a press release. Parties across the political spectrum have also condemned the video.
On “no qualms about being associated with right-wing extremists”to form a government. He urged the population to vote ÖVP for “strengthen the center”.
The leader of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), Andreas Babler, judged on“a democratic state cannot exist” with the FPÖ.
The far-right party is regularly accused of racism and anti-Semitism, which it denies. Under the leadership of Mr. Kickl, the party relied on anger towards immigration, inflation and restrictions linked to Covid-19 to win over voters.
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