Latest news with #FreedomPartyofAustria
Euronews
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Hitler's Austrian town to rename two streets honouring Nazi supporters
Two streets in Adolf Hitler's Austrian hometown of Braunau am Inn, which bear the name of two Nazi party supporters — music composer Josef Reiter and entertainer Franz Resl — are to be renamed. Local media reported that the decision was made on Wednesday, following a "secret vote" by the city council, with 28 councillors in favour and nine against. Local authorities had published a previous report which found that maintaining the street names was unconstitutional. Once the name change has been enacted, roughly 200 households will have a new address. The Mauthausen Committee, which raises awareness about what happened at the concentration camp close to Braunau am Inn, said renaming the streets was a decision with "symbolic significance." At least 90,000 prisoners were killed at the Mauthausen camp, while 65,000 Austrian Jews were assassinated over the course of the Holocaust and 130,000 were forced to flee the country. The Mauthausen Committee told local media they are paying tribute to local Austrians who fought against the Nazis with the new street names. Across Austria, the names of other streets and sites have been changed, in order to steer clear from glorifying Nazism. For instance, in 2022 the city of Linz in Upper Austria announced it would rename "Porsche Street" named after one of the most infamous engineers of the Third Reich. Another site which has attracted a great deal of controversy in Braunau am Inn Adolf Hitler's childhood home, in which he was born in 1899. Despite having been used for a variety of purposes — including as a library, a school, but also a shelter for disabled people — for many neo-Nazis it was, and continues to be, a pilgrimage site. To prevent the house from becoming a mass gathering site for neo-Nazis, the Austrian government bought the house from the property's owner in 2016 under a compulsory purchase order, following a heated public debate. While many argued that the house should be demolished, critics stated that such a move would amount to a denial of Austria's history and its role in the Holocaust. In 1989, a memorial stone warning against the dangers of fascism was placed outside the house, which states "For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism. Millions of Dead are a Warning." Three years on, the Austrian government announced that Hitler's childhood home would undergo lengthy renovations in order to be transformed into a police station. In Austria, the Freedom Party of Austria — which came in first in the country's September general election, having been founded in the 1950s by former members of the SS and other Nazi veterans — has soared in popularity in recent years.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Austrian far-right party leader publicly expresses outrage over Zelenskyy's potential visit
Media reports suggest that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Austria on 16 June. Although the visit has not yet been officially confirmed, the news has sparked outrage from the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). Source: Austrian media outlet Heute; Austrian newspapers Kronen Zeitung and Der Standard, as reported by European Pravda Details: Media reports indicate that meetings are planned between Zelenskyy and Austrian leaders, including Chancellor Christian Stocker and Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen. Other details of the visit remain unknown and the Austrian government has declined to comment. Despite the lack of official confirmation, Herbert Kickl, the leader of the Austrian Freedom Party, has publicly criticised the visit as a "foreign policy blunder" that, in his view, "makes Austria a potential target in the event of escalation". "This visit is yet another link in the chain of violations of neutrality and misleading neutrality policy in recent years," Kickl claimed. "As a neutral state, Austria should be a peacemaker and mediator, not a party to war." Background: This would be Zelenskyy's first visit to Austria since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In March 2023, the Ukrainian president addressed the Austrian parliament via video link. In March 2025, Zelenskyy met Austria's new Chancellor Christian Stocker in Brussels. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
German far-right leader Weidel says Orbán is 'beacon of freedom'
Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, on Friday praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as a "beacon of freedom" during a conference held in Budapest. Addressing her audience in English, Weidel said: "The wind of change is blowing." Referring to a decision by Germany's domestic intelligence agency to classify her party, which took second place in the February elections, as extremist, Weidel said: "They spy on the opposition, to denounce the AfD as an enemy of the constitution, fabricating a pretext for outlawing our party." Weidel said to loud applause from the audience that moves to have the AfD banned by the German courts would not prevail. The intelligence agency has said it will refrain from classifying the AfD as "confirmed right-wing extremist" until a Cologne civil court has ruled on an urgent application from the party. The annual gathering in Budapest is linked to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the United States. Orbán uses the event to promote networking between international right-wing organizations. A common thread is a favourable attitude towards Russia under President Vladimir Putin. This year the conference drew attendances from Herbert Kickl, head of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. US President Donald Trump sent greetings by video.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hungary's Orbán says Trump offers 'hope' at right-wing conference
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán described US President Donald Trump's presidency as a "true civilizational turning point" at an international conference of right-wing populists and Russia supporters on Thursday. "We will not drown in a sea of 'wokeness,' migrants will not overrun us, Donald Trump has given [the world] back hope for a normal life and for peace," Orbán said in his opening speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Budapest. Trump sent a welcome video to the event, recorded in the Oval Office. In it, he praised Orbán as "a great man who is highly respected by everybody." "He has done a brilliant job of leading, and he is a very special person," Trump added. Other speakers at the two-day conference include the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany, Alice Weidel, the head of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria, Herbert Kickl, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobachidze. Orbán has been ruling Hungary with increasingly authoritarian methods since 2010. He has repeatedly advocated watering down EU sanctions on Moscow and has obstructed the bloc's support of Ukraine in its defence against Russia's full-scale invasion.e
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Far-Right blocked from government in Austria despite winning election
The far-Right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) has been blocked from government despite winning the country's election. After five months of deadlock, the conservative Peoples' Party, centre-Left Social Democrats and liberal Neos reached a three-party coalition agreement on Thursday for the first time in Austrian history. Christian Stocker, the conservatives' leader, will become chancellor, and Andreas Babler, leader of the Social Democrats, vice chancellor. With the so-called 'firewall against the far-Right' just about holding – as it has done in neighbouring Germany – Herbert Kickl, the FPO leader, branded the arrangement a 'coalition of losers' and called for a snap election. The FPO came out on top in September's election with 28.9 per cent of the vote, although it did not win enough seats in parliament to form a government. As all other main parties refused to work with the FPO, Alexander Van der Bellen, Austria's president, initially asked Karl Nehammer, the then-conservatives' leader and incumbent chancellor, to attempt to create a government. After this effort collapsed in January, the president gave the task of forming a coalition to the FPO, as the 'firewall' – a pledge by mainstream parties not to work with or form governments with parties deemed too Right-wing – is not as entrenched in Austria as it is in Germany. In Germany, conservative Friedrich Merz's attempt to toughen migration laws with the help of the far-Right Alternative for Germany party fell apart last month. Some members of Merz's party, the Christian Democratic Union, refused to support the measure. The FPO, who have governed Austria twice before, ultimately failed to create a government with their country's own conservatives due to disagreements over Russia, with the FPO said to favour warmer relations with Vladimir Putin. After the collapse of the FPO's attempts in January, the mainstream parties attempted once to put together a coalition. The newly-reached deal has been referred to as the 'sugar coalition' because their parties' colours resemble that of jelly-beans. The alliance is likely to be unwieldy and driven by desperation to avoid new elections that the FPO would likely win more emphatically than it did in September, as polls suggest support for the party has surged to 34 per cent. On Thursday Mr Kickl said: 'Today is not the end, I'll be back, no question.' Austria is often seen as the bellwether for collaboration between conservatives and the hard-Right in German-speaking countries, as FPO's first inclusion in a government was in partnership with the conservatives in 2000. It once again entered government under the conservatives in 2017. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
