For a long time it was a matter of guessing whether and, if so, who would send the FPÖ as a candidate in the federal presidential elections. Now it appears from the committee meetings that have been going on since Tuesday afternoon that party leader Herbert Kickl, quite surprisingly, wants to make someone other than the previously privileged Susanne Fürst a challenger to Alexander Van der Bellen…
Kickl is said to have proposed the incumbent Ombudsman and lawyer Walter Rosenkranz. The Lower Austrian was a free club president under Turquoise Blue and has many years of political experience. He is also a member of the beating Viennese fraternity Libertas.
Prince was the favourite
Previously, constitutional spokeswoman Susanne Fürst was seen as the most promising candidate from the blue ranks. However, as the “Standard” reports, Kickl should prefer Rosencrantz. Who actually sends the FPÖ into the race will be determined by the party committees on Tuesday evening.
So far there is no official statement, the candidates for the race for the Hofburg were a closely guarded secret even within the FPÖ. Only the circle closest to Kickl should have been notified. The challenger of Alexander Van der Bellen will be introduced on Wednesday.
Not an easy start to the Hofburgrace
Whoever sends the PVV into the race, it should not be easy for them. To start with, Van der Bellen is firmly in the saddle. On the other hand, at least two other candidates want to run whose program is similar in content to the liberal positions: For example, former BZÖ politician Gerald Grosz kicked against corona measures and sanctions against Russia, just like the headline of the MFG list critical of vaccinations, Michael Brunner.
It won’t be easy to even come close to the results of the last blue presidential candidate, Norbert Hofer. In 2016, this was 35.05 percent in the first ballot and 46.21 percent in the second round. Rosencrantz is largely uncontroversial in the party. Still, some doubted – visibly surprised – whether he was the right candidate.
Source: Krone
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