FPÖ proposes sending a "Repatriation Commissioner" to the EU.
In Germany, the idea of "Remigration" stirred up a lot of anger, while in Austria, the victorious FPO insisted on appointing a corresponding official. They even want to choose her themselves.
The far-right party FPO, which came out on top in the Austrian European election, is demanding the authority to pick a European "Remigration Commissioner." "For some time now, I've heard that there's a need for a sensible migration policy, that there's a need for remigration," FPO General Secretary Christian Hafenecker said in Vienna to a group of reporters.
"We need a Remigration Commissioner, a Remigration Commissioner," Hafenecker stressed. According to news agency APA, he proposed FPO member of parliament Susanne Fürst for the position.
The FPO made it over the threshold for the first time in its history in the EU election and now has the right to fill the position, Hafenecker emphasized. It's strange, he added, that the OVP, which suffered the "worst election defeat" in a European election, wants to be the one to choose the commissioner.
In the EU, each country usually contributes a commissioner or commissioner to the EU Commission. These commissioners are proposed by their respective governments. In Austria, the conservative government party OVP received 24.7% of the votes in the European election - in 2019, it was still the strongest force with 34.5%. The FPO obtained 25.4% in the recent election on Sunday.
The FPO stands for "Remigration," which is the idea of deporting individuals with non-European ethnic backgrounds who, in their opinion, have not integrated. In 2023, party leader Herbert Kickl had already pushed for the citizenship of people who reject integration to be revoked.
Conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer, however, set the date for the upcoming parliamentary election. "In the upcoming Council of Ministers session, the 29th of September will be set as the date for the National Council elections," he tweeted. The polls predict that the FPO will also win the parliamentary election. But it remains uncertain if they'll manage to find coalition partners to form a government.
This anti-immigration FPO was founded in the 1950s by ex-Nazis. Since the 1980s, it's had a hand in federal governments in Vienna, most recently with the OVP from 2017 to 2019.
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The FPÖ's proposal for a "Repatriation Commissioner" in the EU has been met with controversy, with the conservative OVP questioning their right to appoint the commissioner given their own poor election performance. Following their victory in the Austrian European elections, the FPÖ now has the authority to nominate a candidate for this position. Karl Nehammer, the conservative Chancellor of Austria, has announced the date for the upcoming parliamentary election, with polls suggesting that the anti-immigration FPO will likely emerge victorious once again.
