Austria’s public prosecutor’s office wants to investigate Herbert Kickl on suspicion of giving false testimony to a public inquiry.
Austrian lawmakers have lifted the immunity of the leader of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), Herbert Kickl, leaving him open to investigation for allegedly giving false testimony to a parliamentary inquiry.
The decision is the latest political setback for Kickl, whose party came first in national elections in September, only to be blocked from a governing coalition when Austria’s other parties refused to work with him.
Austria’s public prosecutor wants to investigate allegations that Kickl lied about various matters, including using public funding to pay for advertisements in exchange for positive media coverage.
At the time, Kickl told Austrian media that he “didn’t take care of advertisements” during his time as interior minister between 2017 and 2019. A then-lawmaker from the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) questioned his comments and filed a complaint against him.
ÖVP lawmaker Christoph Zarits, who proposed lifting Kickl’s immunity, told parliament ahead of the vote that “The same rules apply to Herbert Kickl as any other citizen.”
The FPÖ was the only party to vote against the motion, condemning it as an example of “prosecution” of the party.
Lawmakers from Austria’s other parties refused to work with Kickl when the FPÖ topped the polls in September’s election. The party was thus unable to assemble the parliamentary majority needed to form a government.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer, whose ÖVP previously formed two coalitions with the FPÖ, ruled out the possibillity of them entering government with Kickl in charge. At the time, he described Kickl as a “security risk”.
Kickl is a divisive figure in Austria. He infamously peddled conspiracy theories and dubious medical claims during the Covid-19 pandemic, promoting the use of Ivermectin, a drug used to treat parasitic worms in animals.
He has also called the World Health Organisation “an instrument for enforcement of power interests”.
The FPÖ has promoted a hardline stance on migration and called for lifting sanctions against Russia as well as limiting military aid to Ukraine.
Austrian parliamentarians also decided to lift the immunity of three other FPÖ party members who attended a funeral for a former MP where a Nazi slogan was chanted.
The MPs are accused of infringing a 1947 law that bans promoting ideology of the Nazi party as well as its reconstitution or denial of crimes against humanity committed by Nazis.
