Kneissl causes a scandal

Former minister compares Austrians to “hyenas”

Karin Kneissl danced with Putin at her wedding.(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER/APA-POOL)

When love for one's homeland evaporates: Former Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, who was once appointed by the patriotic FPÖ party and is currently residing in Russia, is once again causing a stir online. She compares the people of Austria to "hyenas" and reiterates her statement that she is not surprised "that Hitler came from Austria."

Diplomat, author, foreign minister, self-proclaimed "political refugee," supervisory board member at a Russian oil company, and lecturer at a Russian university. Karin Kneissl has been many things in her life. She has long considered herself "part of the local community" in Russia. For the past year and a half, she has been living in a village in the Russian region of Ryazan, where, according to her own statements, she has been able to start a "new chapter."

Karin Kneissl danced with Putin at her wedding.(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER/APA-POOL)

"It's no coincidence that Hitler came from Austria"
The former minister, nominated by the FPÖ, recently spoke about earlier chapters of her life on YouTube, in an interview for a program called "Bridge to the East." "No one should tell me it's just the elites, it's just the evil media. I then noticed how a village turned against me. (...) That's when I realized it was no coincidence that Hitler came from Austria," she explains.

"Small-mindedness and inferiority complexes"
Controversial: This is not the first time Kneissl has caused a stir on YouTube. She already made headlines in November 2024. "It was no coincidence that Hitler came from Austria and that the top Western Gestapo officials were from Austria. It's a mixture of small-mindedness, envy, and inferiority complexes (...)", said the former foreign minister, who was appointed on an FPÖ ticket at the time.

If I miss anything from Europe, it's France, not Austria.

Ex-Außenministerin Karin Kneissl

In the new video, the self-confessed friend of Russia takes a similar line to extremes. "If I miss anything from Europe, it's France, not Austria. In France, people were human, in Austria they were hyenas."

Kneissl also draws comparisons between her life in Austria and her life in Lebanon, where she had moved before her stay in Russia: "It wasn't this malice, this wickedness, this spitefulness that I still experience today, because it still reaches me from Austria, for example."

NEOS club chairman Yannick Shetty criticizes Kneissl.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Kneissl's latest statements are once again causing criticism. NEOS club chairman Yannick Shetty condemns the former minister's statements and tells the "Krone" newspaper: "The FPÖ politician Kneissl continues to adorn herself with the title 'former Austrian Foreign Minister' and makes the rounds of Russian propaganda studios at Putin's expense with a single goal: to insult Austrians and badmouth our beautiful country and its people."

We will take a closer look at Kneissl's activities in Russia!

Yannick Shetty, Klubobmann der NEOS

Shetty identifies "blue double standards"
He adds: "Kickl and Kneissl were close colleagues in the Kurz I government. To this day, Kickl has not distanced himself from the FPÖ politician. This shows how great the blue double standards are when it comes to Putin's interests." He says they want to take a closer look at Kneissl's activities in Russia because Austrians have a right to know "what the former FPÖ minister and Kickl's colleague is really up to in Russia."

ÖVP Secretary General Nico Marchetti also expressed his outrage to the "Krone": "This shows how quickly Kickl's FPÖ patriotism disappears. As soon as Russia calls, Austria First is replaced by Russia Today."