In the final sprint to the Hofburg elections, the conflict between the Jewish Community (IKG) and the FPÖ is now flaring up again. The reason for this is a Facebook message from IKG boss Oskar Deutsch on Monday during an election campaign event together with incumbent Alexander Van der Bellen. In it, Deutsch called FPÖ challenger Walter Rosenkranz a “brown wolf in blue sheep’s clothing”. The FPÖ is outraged and demands that Van der Bellen distance himself from the statements of his supporter.
Insulting a candidate for the office of Federal President would damage Austria’s international reputation. “Clear words from the incumbent Federal President and distance from Deutsch’s statements are now required,” said Secretary-General Michael Schnedlitz, who speaks of “outrageous statements”.
‘An explanation must be given from Van der Bellen’
He does not assume that Van der Bellen was aware of Deutsch’s statements in advance. That is precisely why the incumbent, who has promised a short and above all fair election campaign, must respond. “If one of his supporters escalates like this and insults a competitor for the office of Federal President, then Van der Bellen must give an explanation.”
The background to Deutsch’s statements is an article by Rosenkranz in the anthology “150 Years of Brotherhoods in Austria”, published in 2009, in which between 1918 and 1938 he also named men with explicit National Socialist sentiments in a list of “fraternity members as top achievers”. ” . Deutsch saw this as a trivialization of Nazi crimes.
Source: Krone
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