The FPÖ celebrated the start of the 2024 super election year with the New Year’s meeting on Saturday. In the beer-filled crowd it was clear: “Kickl is doing it!” In Graz, the FPÖ leader launched an all-round political attack, knowing that a “people’s chancellor” is no longer a liberal pipe dream.
“Before Herbert comes,” implored a warmer at the Schwarzl recreation center, “the hall must shake.” Kickl’s court musician Werner Otti also sang an emotionally charged version of “You Raise Me Up” to set the mood.
When the blue chairman Kickl marched into the festival hall of the Schwarzl recreation center near Graz carrying an XXL version of the national flag, the beer-filled crowd was unstoppable. Or as top EU candidate Harald Vilimsky put it: If this hall had a smell, it would be a “blue smell, a red-white-red smell”.
Kick with an all-round punch
No wonder that the dream of ‘people’s chancellorship’ is within reach. The FPÖ has consolidated its top spot in the polls and Kickl launched an all-round political attack – accompanied by cries of “Herbert”.
Impressions of the FPÖ New Year’s meeting:
He is “extremely motivated”. “We will show you where you belong,” Kickl explained towards the governing parties. “We’ll wrestle the bull to the ground.” Kickl declared 2024 the fateful year. The history books should one day say: “The return of democracy began in the Schwarzlhalle.”
The blue flash
He described the blue electorate as a ‘CO₂-free power plant’. This positive energy will strike like a blue lightning bolt in a “system of lust for power”. When he is referred to by people like ‘Mr. Blabla’ (assumption: Babler), Kogler or Nehammer is described as “right-wing extremist”, he wears this label with pride. He is the only ‘normal man’.
Vilimsky with EU bashing
Before that, Vilimsky had of course railed against Brussels: “The place must shrink.” Instead of more than 700 EU representatives, only half are needed. “The Commission with 27 commissioners, which abuses the EU with its rules, can also be downsized.”
The 2024 election calendar:
Styrian top candidate Mario Kunasek said he did not want to be everyone’s state governor. He does not want to be the governor of ‘the terrorists and the robber barons in the social system’. He wants to be the governor of “the top performers, families, single mothers and hackers.”
Kunasek predicted that Styria, the green country, would soon strike with blue power. He saw a historic opportunity to do something “new in the green market”.
Kunasek: Time for first place
But that is only possible with first place. Kunasek recalled the year 2015, when three parties were very close to each other and the FPÖ came away empty-handed. He criticized Governor Christopher Drexler (ÖVP) for claiming to belong to the middle class with a salary of 20,000 euros per month.
“If I have this mentality, then I cannot do politics for the top performers of the country.” He also insulted the ÖVP as a corrupt party – but of course left out the fact that he himself is in charge of corruption investigations.
FPÖ is confident of victory
The Schwarzlhalle was full with more than 2,000 visitors. After the speeches of the FPÖ grandees, the people in Graz were already certain of the super election year 2024: “Kickl will do it!”
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.
