“Krone” interview – Kickl: “Markus Abwerzger is an anti-flatter man”

„krone“: Is it your first guest appearance? here in the Zillertal in Tyrol, Mr Kickl?
kickl: No, I did the Steinbock run in 2019 – a very nice memory. But I still have a score to settle with this run, which will of course be settled one day.

Do you have your running or walking shoes with you, after all you should be a gifted athlete?
Kickl: No, we have a full political program. And that’s what I focus on.

Not only are the Tyroleans called upon to elect a new Federal President on October 9, but state elections are already scheduled for September 25. Is the FPÖ sending the right top candidate into the race with Markus Abwerzger?
Kickl: I couldn’t ask for better. He has the necessary political experience and is young and dynamic at the same time. To me he is an anti-flatter man, both in character and in politics. And that is good.

What problems does the Tyrolean FPÖ focus on? Little is heard about the classical content of migration and asylum. LH Günther Platter was criticized for his politics for months, but in mid-June he announced that he was no longer active. So that goes away too. So what’s left?
Abwerzger: The asylum and migration issue will come, that is a fact. We receive photos of the Brenner border from citizens, which show that many illegal migrants are still traveling through Tyrol. This topic is currently only overshadowed by other topics. About LH Platter: Even if he no longer participates, his system will continue to exist. Because with Anton Mattle, we have his political twin. This system must be fought because we do not want to be part of it. If the PP loses as much as the Krone poll showed, about 15 percent, I don’t think Mattle will negotiate after Election Day. Other topics include inflation, which we feel even more in Tyrol than elsewhere, as well as fundamental rights and freedoms related to the Covid measures.

In the Innsbruck City Council, the FPÖ voted in favor of the implementation of rainbow zebra crossings as a “sign of diversity”, which is rather atypical. Do such issues find their way into the party?
Abwerzger: I don’t think it’s earth-shattering what color a zebra crossing is. That is why citizens do not more or less remain on the stock exchange. Perhaps that is even against the law, because the traffic rules provide for exact colors of the zebra crossing.

Are you meddling, Mr Kickl, in the election campaign of your Tyrolean colleagues?
Kickl: I lead by allowing, I didn’t say that for nothing when I became chairman. It would be presumptuous to tell the Tyrolean colleagues which subjects they should focus on. Of course there are issues at the federal level that also affect the federal states. But apart from that, the Tyroleans themselves know very well what is good for them.

According to the aforementioned “Tiroler Krone” research, the PVV would come in second place. promising?
Abwerzger: Yes, of course. If the election were to go like this, it would be very positive for us. You can clearly see that there is only one challenger for the ÖVP: the FPÖ. This has to do with the fact that the other parties want to join the ÖVP system, want to be the annex of the ÖVP system. If we get a little bit more percentage and the ÖVP a little less, then a lot is possible. These are turbulent times and I am proud to be a part of them. We want to run a good campaign and make a profit after Election Day. We achieve that.