Former Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl caused negative reactions on Monday with a tweet about the lack of petrol in France. She quoted a letter from General Erwin Rommel to his wife from 1942. At the time, Rommel accepted the National Socialist regime and made a career with the Wehrmacht.
During World War II, on the eve of the Battle of El Alamein (Egypt) in 1942, he wrote to his wife that “lack of fuel could make you cry”. Rommel was a lieutenant general and had an ambivalent relationship with National Socialism and the resistance. Investigation concluded that he initially accepted the system without objection and that Adolf Hitler personally encouraged him to do so. A few years later, Rommel is said to have participated in the resistance against National Socialism. His name is associated with the assassination attempt on Hitler in 1944.
Former Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl (non-party) added to her quote by pointing out that she can remember October 1973, but the situation today is much more critical. At that time, the price of crude oil rose, among other things, which prompted the Austrian government to take a number of measures. An example was the car-free day for car users in 1974. They were obliged to leave their car at least one day a week and to document this.
Little petrol in France
The reason Karin Kneissl commented on the lack of fuel on Twitter is the current situation in France. Thousands of gas stations there are currently empty and long lines are forming for others. The authorities have already taken measures in recent days. For example, in the Vaucluse department in Provence, they have limited fuel purchases to 30 liters per vehicle.
According to media reports such as “Standard”, the reasons for the shortfall are a strike at leading companies TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil, as well as France’s state-controlled pricing policy. President Emmanuel Macron had ordered the price of petrol to be lowered by 30 cents per liter. TotalEnergies then announced that it would cut the price by another 20 cents. Since then, queues of cars have formed there, with waiting times of several hours.
Comments: “Shining in Government”
In its first hours, Karin Kneissl’s tweet received 31 likes (as of October 10, 3:21 PM), seven retweets, and was quoted four times. In addition to approval, users have also expressed a lot of criticism. “Thanks again Sebastian Kurz for this light in your government. Only the best! #gagakneissl,” wrote user Linksfunker. A student from Vienna said that Kneissl would soon become too uncomfortable in France.
Kneissl described himself as a “political refugee” several months ago and lived in France from 2020 to 2022. Today she lives in Lebanon and works as a Middle East expert and author.
Source: Krone
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