In the run-up to the SPÖ retreat, internal party debates are said to have already taken place about the content of the focus. Now the FPÖ boss is also getting involved in the Reds’ New Year’s retreat, which starts on Wednesday. Herbert Kickl is surprised that SPÖ leader Pamela-Rendi-Wagner, who recently advocated a more restrictive asylum procedure, invited liberal migration researcher Gerald Knaus as a guest speaker for a retreat in Klagenfurt.
“With migration researcher Gerald Knaus, the SPÖ has invited someone to speak at their New Year’s retreat who says Angela Merkel’s ‘we can do it’ policy makes him proud,” Kickl told the “Krone”.
“Merkel Whisperer”
Explanation of person Gerald Knaus: German media therefore also call him the “Merkel whisperer”, “Die Zeit” called him the “inventor” of the EU-Turkey agreement, the “taz” his “spiritual father”.
Kickl: “Crazy plan”
According to Knaus’s ideas, on a 1:1 ratio for every Syrian refugee deported to Turkey, another Syrian refugee should be resettled from Turkey to the EU. “It would be a zero-sum game for which Turkey would be paid up to six billion, but it is not, because the model devised by Knaus failed miserably: EU countries are taking in five times as many migrants from Turkey as agreed.” , that is not a 1:1 exchange ratio, but 1:5!” criticizes the FPÖ boss, who describes Knaus’s plan as “crazy”.
It is not surprising that Kickl does not rate a migration researcher like Knaus positively. “So the SPÖ is not only being chatted up by a Merkel-type immigration guru, but also to Knaus for advice from someone whose asylum policy plans have long since failed in practice,” says Kickl’s analysis.
The FPÖ boss misses the criticism of those voices in the SPÖ who want a tougher asylum procedure. “If the SPÖ had been brave, they would not only have pushed aside their own party leader and tried to cover their original exam schedule, which would have focused only on Knaus’ lecture, with a whole potpourri of other subjects, but they would have uninvited Knaus immediately.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
