After scandal in the state parliament

“Measure is full”: SPÖ terminates cooperation with the FPÖ

The trigger was the session of the Burgenland state parliament last Thursday.(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

After the Austro-fascist comparison made by the Freedom Party during the state parliament session in Burgenland, the Red Party has now had enough. A red line had been crossed.

Last Thursday's provincial parliament session was nothing to write home about. As reported, the parties gave each other nothing. Because Governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) had to be excused due to illness, FPÖ party chairman Alexander Petschnig even drew a comparison to the 1930s: "What Hans Peter Doskozil is delivering today in the Burgenland state parliament comes uncomfortably close to a deliberate de facto elimination of parliament." He also spoke of "putsch-like conditions".

The FPÖ compared Hans Peter Doskozil's absence to the "elimination" of parliament in the 1930s.(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

Red line crossed
This has now ensured that the SPÖ wants nothing more to do with the FPÖ. "A red line has been crossed here that we can no longer ignore. The limit has been reached", says SPÖ Club Leader Roland Fürst. The governor had apologized for the meeting due to his operation. To compare this with a putsch - a violent coup d'état - or the elimination of parliament in 1933 is "last class".

Sharp criticism from the SPÖ
"The FPÖ in Burgenland should also be well versed enough in history to know what happened in Austria in the 1930s. The elimination of parliament was followed by Austrofascism." Statements that endanger democracy, such as those made by the FPÖ, should not be played down or relegated to the category of "usual political excitement", also emphasizes Fritz Radlspäck, regional director of the SPÖ. As long as the FPÖ uses such diction, we will no longer work with them at parliamentary level, said Fürst.

The work will continue as usual, explained FPÖ party chairman Norbert Hofer when asked. If we are invited to talks, we will of course go. If there are no more invitations - even though the FPÖ is the second strongest parliamentary group - they can no longer participate. "We are ready to work," says Hofer. He had also had to hold talks with other parties in parliament, even though they were not of the same opinion.