Who is afraid of Zelensky in Austria?

The possible speech of Ukrainian President Zelensky in the Austrian Parliament is evolving into a political serial. Political parties are skeptical of. Neutrality.

We do not yet know whether the President of Ukraine has the time and inclination to speak in the Austrian Parliament or whether he received a relevant fireball survey from Vienna. But already the preliminary negotiations between the political parties are reminiscent of a “farce”, as the Austrian press points out. What exactly happened? The beginning was made by the liberal and pro-European party NEOS, proposing that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky address the Austrian Federal Parliament. The proposal was discussed within the presidency of the Parliament, but was not accepted. The objections came mainly from two major parties, the far-right Liberal Party (FPÖ) and the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), while the stance of the center-right People’s Party (ÖVP) has not been clarified. FPÖ President Herbert Kikl refuses to receive Volodymyr Zelensky by teleconference, citing Austria’s traditional “neutrality regime” and saying that “by the same token, we do not want to welcome Vladimir Putin or any other party.”

The FPÖ’s reaction comes as no surprise, as Putin’s ties to Russia are well known. In 2008, the then-far-right FPÖ leader and opposition leader Hans-Christian Strache expressed sympathy for the Russian invasion of Georgia. In 2016, the FPÖ signed a cooperation agreement with Putin’s United Russia party. As Vice Chancellor of Austria, Strache participated in the contacts of the center-right Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz with the President of Russia. In 2014, an associate of his, businessman Johan Gudenus, appeared in Crimea as an observer in the referendum that led to the annexation of the peninsula to Russia, to ensure that all democratic procedures were followed. And when Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneisl married her sweetheart in August 2018, Vladimir Putin was also invited to the wedding. Who not only brought with him an entire choir of Cossacks, but also danced a waltz with the bride. His wedding gift was earrings worth 50,000 euros, according to Austrian publications of the time. Following her departure from the government, Karin Kneisl took over as chief of staff at Russian energy giant Rosneft.

“Yes but, but“ by S.Osial Democrats

The reaction of the FPÖ is therefore expected. But what is the attitude of traditional Austrian political parties? The Social Democrats were certainly upset. They do not want to be in the same drawer as the FPÖ, although their leaders sometimes seek political alliances with the far right. On Wednesday, the SPÖ vice-president said: “The NEOS claim that the SPÖ rejected the proposal for a speech by Ukrainian President Zelensky in Parliament is wrong.” So the Socialists did not say they did not want Zelensky. But they did not say that they wanted him either. Speaking to the Tiroler Zeitung newspaper, SPÖ “sources” threw the ball to the (center-right PVP) Speaker of Parliament, Wolfgang Sobotka, saying that it was his responsibility to call on the President of Ukraine to reconsider. the Social Democrats are not going to reject it.

But Sobotka returns the ball and tells the Austrian News Agency (APA) that he will not take the initiative unless an agreement is reached between the parliamentary groups. “It’s sad that the Social Democrats are using neutrality as a fig tree,” said Green MP David Stegmiller. “Since almost all political parties are in favor of Zelensky’s speech in the Austrian Parliament, let’s set a date for an extraordinary sitting next week,” he said, with the apparent aim of persuading all parties to take position, if nothing else.

Fear of …Zelensky indiscretions?

In a commentary entitled “Neutral on the verge of farce”, the Austrian newspaper Die Presse expressed a suspicion: MPs may be afraid that Volodymyr Zelensky will say things that no one listens to pleasantly in Austria, as he had done in neighboring Switzerland, calling on the government Bern to freeze the bank accounts held by Russian oligarchs in the country and criticizing Nestlé “businesses” (with the Swiss company replying, however, that it has fully complied with the provisions on sanctions).

Be that as it may, the Austrian newspaper urges lawmakers to invite Volodymyr Zelensky: “Here speaks a desperate man, seeking help everywhere. The least we can do is listen to him, as Putin’s bombs explode. map an entire cities in Ukraine.An invitation – whether accepted or not – would be a minimal indication of decency, compassion and recognition of the tragedy.That this invitation is disappearing, but also the way it is disappearing, is an Austrian farce. And in fact a bad joke “.

Giannis Papadimitriou (APA, ORF, Die Presse, Der Standard)

Source: Deutsche Welle