Austrian Parliament Lifts Immunity of FPÖ Leader

Austrian Parliament Lifts Immunity of FPÖ Leader

FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl. Photo: APA/Roland Schlager

 

The National Council, Austria’s lower house of parliament, has voted to lift the immunity of far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader Herbert Kickl, along with three other MPs from the party.

All parties, except the FPÖ, supported the move.

The decision follows an investigation by the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA), which wants to probe Kickl for allegedly giving false testimony during a parliamentary inquiry into allegations of abuse of power in April.

The inquiry focused on FPÖ advertisements and the advertising agency Ideenschmiede in Klagenfurt. Since 2013, there have been suspicions of illegal party financing linked to Ideenschmiede. The claim is that, over the years, the FPÖ received illegal kickback payments of 20% in exchange for public sector contracts, particularly in Carinthia, which was governed by the FPÖ during the 2000s.

The three other FPÖ MPs are under investigation by the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office for allegedly violating the Prohibition Act. This follows their participation in a funeral where a song used by the Nazi SS was sung.

The FPÖ opposed lifting Kickl’s immunity, with party MP Christian Ragger arguing that Kickl made his statement during the inquiry as party leader, not as interior minister, and therefore should be protected by parliamentary immunity. Ragger labelled the move “persecution justice” by the government parties.

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