Herbert Kickl compares an election victory for the FPÖ with Messner climbing Mount Everest. The internet and the mountaineer react unimpressed.
Vienna – The national elections will take place in Austria on September 29th. The right-wing radical FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl is also running in the election. Polls currently show that he and his party, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), could become the strongest force. Now the party leader is coming under criticism after the start of the election campaign in Graz. There he made a comparison to mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner and not only earned the displeasure of some users on the Internet, but also from Messner himself.
Shitstorm on the internet: Kickl compares possible FPÖ election victory with Messner’s ascent of Mount Everest
At the event, Kickl compared his party’s plan to take first place in the Austrian election to Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler’s first ascent of Mount Everest without additional oxygen, Austrian media reported. Contrary to expectations, his goal is to make the impossible possible – just like Messner. “The world was excited about this great idea and I was one of them,” Kickl reportedly said. “Now we are standing in front of our Mount Everest.”
The comparison seemed oe24.at It seems that the post was not well received by users on the internet. One user is quoted in the report as saying she is “megalomaniacal”. “Messner climbed Mount Everest without an oxygen tank, but at least he came back down with enough oxygen in his brain. Kickl seems to be intoxicated,” wrote another.
Messner reacts to Kickl’s statement: “I do not want to be involved in such election campaign tactics”
The mountaineer Messner himself speaks out in an article in the Kronen Newspaper He is said to have said: “I do not want to be involved in such election campaign tactics. Not in general.” With regard to politics, he added: “Mountain climbing is about making connections to reach the summit. These are positive, good connections. Those in politics are not like that.”
In the Facebook-Comments under the post by oe24.at There are both critical voices and supporters of Kickl. “It won’t be the last thing the Dodl collective comes up with before the election!” writes one user. Another commented: “He already seems to be feeling the lack of oxygen.” Others, however, criticize the reactions. “It’s unbelievable how much people can get upset about,” one comment says.
In the poll results of the news agency APA Kickl’s FPÖ is at around 27 percent, followed by the conservative ÖVP and the social democratic SPÖ. Since its founding in the 1950s, the FPÖ has repeatedly attracted attention with right-wing extremist statements by its members. The FPÖ’s election manifesto is based on the motto “Fortress Austria – Fortress of Freedom”. It sometimes talks about “remigration” and a stop to family reunification. (gel)
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