Christian Stocker, Austria’s Conservative Chancellor, has said he did not regard the right-wing Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) as “extremist”.
Stocker told attendants at an event of the Association of the Foreign Press in Vienna on May 6: “You cannot compare FPÖ to AfD”.
He was referring to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party that was designated as “definitely right-wing extremist” by German intelligence agency the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) on May 2.
Stocker continued: “In the FPÖ you can recognise tendencies here and there, which I have also described as right-wing extremist. But I would not characterise the FPÖ as a whole as a right-wing extremist party.”
The FPÖ had been part of the democratic spectrum in Austria for decades, Stocker said, albeit with “many problematic developments”.
The BfV’s proclamation on the AfD sparked controversy as it allowed German security services to spy on the party and its members. It could also serve as the basis for banning AfD completely, despite it coming second with 21 per cent of the vote at the February 2025 general election.
The BfV has been accused of political bias as it reported to the German interior minister, a role held until very recently by Nancy Faeser of the Social Democratic Party.
FPÖ representatives have also criticised the German intelligence agency’s labelling of the AfD as right-wing extremist. FPÖ MEP Petra Steger called it “a transparent political manoeuvre to eliminate the patriotic opposition”.
The BfV’s decision has caused some on the Austrian Left to also call for the FPÖ to be banned.
Stocker’s remarks marked a surprising departure from his rhetoric after the Austrian election in September 2024 – which the FPÖ won with 29 per cent of the vote, beating Stocker’s ÖVP that secured 26 per cent.
While many observers had expected, or even hoped for, an FPÖ-ÖVP coalition government following the September ballot, Stocker and fellow ÖVP grandees showed right-wingers the cold shoulder, referring to FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl as a “right-wing extremist”.
In the end, the ÖVP opted to form a left-leaning coalition with the Social Democratic Party of Austria, which has since been struggling with the country’s catastrophic fiscal and economic situation.
Brussels Signal reached out to Stocker for comment but had not received a reply at the time of writing.
