Innsbruck mayor asks prosecutors to assess council gesture

Innsbruck Mayor Johannes Anzengruber has asked prosecutors to assess whether a gesture made by an FPÖ substitute councillor during his swearing-in may have criminal relevance, ORF reports.

Mario Fauster raised his right hand on Thursday with his thumb, index finger and middle finger extended. Several other parties said they saw the far-right Kühnengruß, while the FPÖ described it as a customary oath gesture.

The Greens, SPÖ, Das Neue Innsbruck, Alternative Liste Innsbruck, Liste Fritz and councillor Maria-Magdalena Trinkl jointly condemned the gesture. They said it had been perceived by several people present as the Kühnengruß, a gesture named after German neo-Nazi leader Michael Kühnen. It is made by extending the right arm and separating the thumb, index and middle fingers to form a W for “resistance”.

FPÖ deputy mayor Markus Lassenberger told the APA news agency that Fauster had used the “oath hand”, which he described as a traditional Christian symbol of the Holy Trinity. He said the gesture is used in oaths in court, the military and politics, and that the party would await any prosecutorial inquiry calmly.

Deputy Mayor Elisabeth Mayr of the SPÖ said she had spoken with all council groups after a brief suspension of the meeting. Some had interpreted the gesture as the Kühnengruß, while others saw an oath hand, she said. The council could not make a final assessment, Mayr added, as that was for prosecutors to determine.