“We need someone to defend people’s freedoms,” Kickl said at a press conference on Wednesday. Van der Bellen represents the “lie” as a politically permitted means, said Kickl, referring to a published book by Van der Bellen.
“There won’t be any gmahde meadows for you, Mr. Federal President” and “VdB less than ever,” Kickl formulated anti-slogans to the incumbent. It’s not about being the first on the field, said Kickl. The party leader positioned the FPÖ as a fundamental opposition in the corona pandemic. The FPÖ seems to be striving to be able to play this card again if the corona situation could deteriorate (by autumn at the latest).
Recently there had been repeated rumors that party leader Herbert Kickl himself could run against the Federal President. However, after low poll numbers, Kickl may have decided not to compete. The Upper Austrian Susanne Fürst was the favourite. The member of parliament was seen as a compromise candidate. Kickl himself denied his own appearance. The FPÖ party leader indicated that Fürst was still in the running.
A surprise candidate also emerged on Wednesday. Tassilo Wallentin (48) is a lawyer in Vienna and most recently worked as a columnist for “Krone”. In his columns he repeatedly dealt with topics such as immigration and integration.
In addition, he is said to have been discussed as an FPÖ standardization for the Constitutional Court. Wallentin has published a number of non-fiction books, is divorced and has three children. Kickl commented on the “Breaking News” that Wallentin should become a candidate for the FPÖ with the words “Breaking Schmus”, but attested Wallentin to write good columns.
