Herbert Kickl is an Austrian and Russia-friendly politician who has been the leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) since June 2021. He previously functioned as Minister for the Interior from 2017 to 2019 and general secretary of the FPÖ from 2005 to 2018. He has been characterised as a far-right politician. Kickl calls himself Volkskanzler (The People‘s Chancellor) and supports a Fortress Austria and Remigration.
Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) is known as a pro-Russia party. FPÖ also called to lift “damaging and pointless” international sanctions against Russia, supported by the EU. The party continues to resist sanctions on Russian energy, calling for a national referendum on the issue. Herbert Kickl constantly slammed EU sanctions against Russia.
Kickl defends his party’s close relations with Vladimir Putin and United Russia. As interior minister in 2018, Kickl sought partnership with the Russian government on disaster responses and the battle against organised crime and terrorism. In a radio interview, Kickl abandoned criticism of the Russian president’s authoritarian policies.
After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he argued that both Russia and NATO bore responsibility for the invasion and that sanctions levied against Russia constituted a violation of Austrian neutrality. He also opposed projects for Austria to accept Ukrainian refugees. In March 2023, Kickl and the FPÖ walked out of parliament during an oration by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Throughout the year, he persisted in calling for the lifting of sanctions against Russia.
According to experts, while nationalist European politicians are counting towards more moderate positions after the success in the EU parliamentary elections, the leader of the Austrian Freedom Party, Herbert Kickl, can become a powerful ally of pro-Russia Orbán. Kikl openly and cynically remarked that the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was allegedly implicated in inciting Russia’s war against Ukraine. He also backs Orban’s position that Ukraine must stop fighting Russian armed aggression and agree to the Kremlin’s demands.
