The top candidates for the EU elections had heated discussions on Wednesday evening during the ORF’s “Elephant Round”. The discussion was especially heated on the topic of the war in Ukraine. FPÖ politician Harald Vilimsky caused outrage with a comment.
Vilimsky claimed that the EU’s anti-Russian position was leading it towards World War III, while he wanted peace. With the statement: “No one here but me is interested in ending dying,” the liberal politician immediately received decisive and indignant responses – which did not stop him from continuing. “They are sneaking into NATO,” he accused the top candidates of the ÖVP, SPÖ, Greens and NEOS.
Brandstätter: “FPÖ adopts Putin propaganda”
NEOS politician Helmut Brandstätter then counterattacked and stated that the FPÖ was copying Russian propaganda one-on-one. But Russia has no real interest in peace. Brandstätter pointed out that as early as 2014 – when Putin annexed Crimea – there were requests from Russia for the FPÖ to oppose sanctions. “Combined with offers, we can prove that the money is flowing,” said the NEOS top candidate. It has not been proven whether money actually went to the FPÖ, but it did go to the AfD, he pointed out its involvement in an espionage scandal.
Lena Schilling, candidate leader of the Green Party, also referred to the “connection of the far right in Europe with Russia”. The goal is disinformation, she said of the exposed ‘Voice of Europe’ propaganda network. Schilling also reminded Vilimsky of the friendship agreement that the FPÖ concluded with Putin’s party in 2016. The politician was in Moscow at the time for ‘work talks’.
SPÖ leadership candidate Andreas Schieder emphasized that there were “reports of questionable relations between right-wing parties and Putin” in the EU Parliament. In addition to the FPÖ and the AfD, he also mentioned Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National. ÖVP list leader Reinhold Lopatka called for continued diplomatic exchanges despite the Russian attack, which violated international law but justified EU spending on aid to Ukraine.
The debate about renaturation continues
The politicians kept interrupting each other. The discussion about the EU renaturation law was also emotional. Vilimsky clarified the FPÖ’s negative position: “Austria is smarter and better than the community in Brussels would like to impose on us.” Lopatka, whose ÖVP is doing everything it can to oppose the law, mocked the requirements for farmers to count “butterflies.” Schilling, on the other hand, criticized “lazy excuses” and recalled 6,000 scientists who had turned against the European People’s Party campaign.
She also complained that the negative decision of the state governors was still intact, despite the apparent changes in Vienna and Carinthia. SPÖ candidate Schieder emphasized his commitment to ecology and tried to explain the divided attitude in his party on renaturation. Together with Brandstätter, he again accused the Greens of failing to implement the climate protection law.
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.
