23. 01. 12. - 15:45

Strache criticises 'incapable' coalition

Freedom Party (FPÖ) boss Heinz-Christian Strache branded the government as an "unpleasant mixture of incapability and unwillingness".

The right-winger told 2,500 supporters at the party’s New Year’s Summit in Salzburg on Saturday his aim was to become chancellor after the coming elections. The next federal ballot is due to take place next year. The FPÖ is currently seen neck and neck with the Social Democrats (SPÖ) at between 27 and 30 per cent each. The SPÖ’s coalition partner, the People’s Party (ÖVP), is only in third place after coming second in the most recent general vote in 2008.

Strache told Die Presse on Saturday he would not allow a party which came third in an election to name the chancellor. The FPÖ chief referred to 2001 when Wolfgang Schüssel of the ÖVP became federal chancellor after his faction came third behind the ÖVP. The SPÖ won the election of 2000 but was forced into opposition as FPÖ and ÖVP agreed to form a government coalition – after fruitless negotiations between SPÖ and ÖVP which went on for months.

The partnership between the right-wing FPÖ and the conservative ÖVP caused angry reactions across Europe. Some commentators and politicians claimed the move dragged Austria towards its own dark past instead of further into the future. The European Union (EU) criticised the decision of the ÖVP to team up with the FPÖ due to the right-wing party’s xenophobic views. Schüssel was under fire for having broken his promise of abstaining from taking government responsibility if his faction came third.

Strache became head of the FPÖ in 2005, shortly after the party’s team of ministers joined late FPÖ chief Jörg Haider’s new Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ). The FPÖ focused on its strict anti-immigration policy while the BZÖ struggled in trying to present itself as a moderate political movement. Strache told his party’s supporters in Salzburg on Saturday he would not allow Austria to "go to the dogs" in the current crisis.

The FPÖ leader attacked the government for providing struggling EU members like Greece while neglecting Austrians who suffered from the effects of the global economic downturn. Speaking to Die Presse, Strache said he would not rule out cooperating with any party "which backs our ideas". Newspaper columnists reported about an alleged approach of the ÖVP towards the ÖVP in recent weeks.

Strache said Austria did not need a debt limit but a stop to excessive subsidies. "The state spent 18.5 billion Euros on various subsidies in 2010," he said. The FPÖ head appealed to SPÖ and ÖVP to consider the various suggestions by the Audit Office (RH). The institution recently presented a list of 599 ideas how the country could economise without carrying out brutal cutbacks.

Around 200 protesters took to the streets against the FPÖ summit in Salzburg at the weekend. Strache told the party’s members that the Republic of Austria could "easily" save seven to 10 billion Euros by stopping some measures of financial support within the country. The FPÖ boss told Die Presse he opposed calls to slash spending on traditional events taking place in the countryside. "I appreciate young Carinthians wearing traditional costumes in a modern way," he said.