Kickl calls for snap elections and plans no-confidence motion

FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl called for early federal elections at an event in Stadl-Paura on Saturday and said he would file a no-confidence motion against the government at the next National Council session, ORF Upper Austria reported.

The FPÖ said about 1,500 people attended. Kickl sharply criticised the coalition of the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS, citing internal problems in the SPÖ as a reason to hold elections. He also again presented himself as a potential chancellor.

The event was part of Kickl’s Austria tour, titled “We are here for you”, which is planned to have 10 stops. At the event, the FPÖ gave visitors carrots, potatoes and other vegetables. The party said a “vegetable tractor” was intended to show solidarity with Austrian farmers, following substantial crop losses after a difficult year for agriculture.

Kickl criticised Austrian support for Ukraine, saying taxpayers’ money was going there while too little was left for people at home. He again opposed Ukraine joining the European Union, citing Austria’s neutrality. He also accused the government of backing EU-level decisions without sufficient resistance and said the fuel price brake did not go far enough.

Upper Austrian FPÖ leader Manfred Haimbuchner said he wanted to become governor of the state if voters gave him the mandate. The FPÖ has governed Upper Austria alongside the ÖVP for years. Recent polls put the two parties close together, with the FPÖ ahead in some surveys. FPÖ Secretary-General Michael Schnedlitz described the ÖVP and SPÖ as politically finished. The party said recent polling supported its position; several national surveys have placed the FPÖ clearly ahead of the ÖVP.

Kickl’s previous stop on the tour was in Bregenz.