Governor of Lower Austria and ÖVP leader Johanna Mikl-Leitner with Udo Landbauer, head of the far-right FPÖ of Lower Austria and heavily criticized for an anti-Semitic songbook published by his fraternity. They are negotiating for a coalition. Image: ORF.at
Following the state election in Lower Austria, the country’s geographically largest state, a coalition is currently emerging between the ÖVP and an FPÖ in which has accommodated leading representatives of far-right and anti-Semitic attitudes for many years.
It is with good reason that the chair of the Jewish Community of Vienna and Lower Austria, Oskar Deutsch, has strongly urged the ÖVP to refrain from forming a coalition with this FPÖ in the interest of democracy in Austria. Commenting on the situation, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said:
“The news about the emerging coalition between the ÖVP and FPÖ in Lower Austria is both appalling and horrifying for the survivors of the Holocaust and their relatives. The blatant and aggressive anti-Semitism which many in this FPÖ share with the German-nationalist fraternities of Austria is just as scandalous as the fact that, with this coalition the ÖVP is making far-right extremists socially acceptable. This coalition is a bitter warning signal for Austria’s and Europe’s credibility.”