A few hours before today’s special FPÖ meeting in the National Council, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) has clear words for the FPÖ leader. “Kickl presumes to act as a traitor to neutrality,” she says in an exclusive krone.tv interview with Conny Winiwarter. They are currently busy “making amends” for all the “failures of the past” under then Interior Minister Kickl. The ÖVP Defense Minister also makes a direct offer to the FPÖ leader…
“We are happy to help him get off his high horse and give him a lesson in neutrality policy,” says Tanner, Kickl’s personal teacher. In an open letter, Kickl also invited Federal President Alexander van der Bellen to the meeting. The question is whether he will accept the invitation.
Van der Bellen is “on the right side”
For Tanner, Van der Bellen is “on the right side”, regardless of whether it concerns the budgetary equipment of the armed forces or the SkyShield air defense system. However, someone who is not “on the right side” is Herbert Kickl: “He is betraying Austria’s neutrality.”
Kickl’s ‘Register of Sins’
As usual, Kickl finds striking words for this: In the open letter, the FPÖ leader speaks about the fact that Austria’s neutrality and sovereignty is “battered” and that the black-green “register of sins” is “very long”. Tanner said: “Kickl should clean up his own front door because under him (as Minister of the Interior, mind you) our soldiers were not properly equipped. What good is neutrality if it is not defensive?”
“Neutrality does not mean indifference”
What would help us, however, is more budget for equipping and arming our armed forces. All of this was only implemented under this federal government, Tanner said. “Kickl only wants to bring about party political change.” Neutrality does not mean indifference: ‘Regardless of whether it is the war in Ukraine or the conflict in the Middle East, party politics has no place in the security issue.’
Well-intentioned advice to the FPÖ…
The Defense Minister is calm about the fact that Kickl has about 30 percent of voters behind him, according to current surveys: “I don’t think people will follow someone who refuses to remain neutral.” Tanner also has a recommendation for the FPÖ parliamentary club: “The FPÖ must vote out the neutrality traitor Herbert Kickl as soon as possible.”
You can watch the entire interview with Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner in the video above!
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.
