Keystone-SDA
The Austrian Parliament on Wednesday approved the lifting of the immunity of the leader of the far-right FPÖ party Herbert Kickl. This at the request of the prosecution, who wishes to question him about alleged false testimony.
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December 11, 2024 – 9:41 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) The conservatives, the social democrats, the liberals of the Neos party and the Greens “have contributed their voices,” the National Assembly said in a press release.
Only Mr. Kickl’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) voted against this request, denouncing a “persecution” maneuver aimed at weakening the party that came first in the legislative elections at the end of September.
Misuse of public funds
Anti-corruption prosecutors issued this request in mid-November in order to be able to investigate the elected official, suspected of having provided false testimony in April before a parliamentary commission responsible for investigating the misuse of public funds.
Herbert Kickl has been targeted since the spring by accusations of embezzlement of public money to pay for advertisements in exchange for favorable media coverage.
Three other FPÖ MPs too
Parliament also decided to lift the immunity of three other FPÖ deputies, who had attended the funeral of a former member of their party in September, during which a Nazi song was sung.
They are accused of violating the 1947 prohibition law punishing anyone who reconstitutes the Nazi Party, a similar organization, propagates its ideology or denies Nazi crimes against humanity, including the Holocaust.
This event caused indignation in the Alpine country, on the eve of the legislative elections. The vote was won by the far-right party, a historic victory which, however, did not open the doors of the chancellery to it.
Due to a lack of allies to form a government, Herbert Kickl was excluded from the negotiations currently being carried out by conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer with the Social Democrats and Liberals.
