Israel should not interfere in Austria's internal deadlock - analysis

The historic victory of Austria’s far-right and sovereigntist Freedom Party (FPÖ), led by Herbert Kickl, is a diplomatic challenge to Israel’s foreign policy due to the party’s past and present Nazi connections.

Some of the founders and leaders of the FPÖ were veteran Nazis. The party’s mythological leader, Jörg Haider, the son of a Nazi family, did not hide his positive views of the Third Reich, has used antisemitism for political purposes, supported the Palestinians in their fight against Israel, and had close relations with some of the country’s archenemies, such as Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi.

When Haider’s FPÖ first joined an Austrian conservative-led government in 2000, Israel called back its ambassador from Vienna and held a lower-level diplomatic representation in Austria for three years. 

However, Jerusalem reacted differently when the FPÖ joined another conservative-led government under former chancellor Sebastian Kurz. Knowing that Kurz was a true friend of Israel who intended to change his country’s less-than-amicable attitude toward the Jewish state, Jerusalem avoided degrading its diplomatic relations with Vienna but continued boycotting the FPÖ’s ministers.

At the time, the successor of Haider at the leadership of the Freedom Party, Heinz-Christian Strache, made huge efforts to amend his party’s image in Israel, including visiting the Jewish state several times, openly supporting Israel, denouncing antisemitism, and distancing himself from the Nazi past.

He even advocated for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and transferring the Austrian embassy there from Tel Aviv. Israel considered lifting the boycott on the FPÖ under a list of conditions, which were not met until Kurz’s government with the FPÖ fell in May 2019 and Strache left his party.

Kickl, the winner of Sunday’s election, is more Haider than Strache, though he is far less interested in foreign affairs than both of his predecessors. His main declared objective in the diplomatic domain is to renew Austria’s neutrality, which in his view was violated by Vienna’s support for Ukraine.

Kickl’s strong attachment to the idea of neutrality is connected mainly to the Russia-Ukraine war since the leader of the FPÖ believes his country’s alignment with the US and EU on the Ukraine conflict had negative economic effects on the Austrian population.

However, analyzing Kickl’s rare remarks on Israel indicates that Kickl´s position on neutrality might refer to the Middle East war as well. For example, after the Hamas pogroms of October 7, Kickl strongly denounced the “malicious terrorist attacks,” but immediately went on adding his hope for an immediate stop of the military conflict as it might cause an explosion in the region and well beyond it.

This position was very different from that of the Austrian conservative-Green government, which clearly stood by Israel’s right to defend itself. The leader of the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP), Chancellor Karl Nehammer, continuing the pro-Israeli foreign policy of his predecessor, Sebastian Kurz, even raised the Israeli flag over his office in the center of Vienna, expressing his solidarity with the Jewish state.

Even Kickl’s strong opposition to the Austrian government’s anti-COVID measures, influenced by the policies and experiences of the Israeli government, might be considered as inspired by anti-Israel and antisemitic ideas or using them for political purposes, despite the fact that Kickl refutes any antisemitism accusations.

All of the other parties announced, even before the general election, that they would refuse to sit in a government under or with Kickl, but not with the FPÖ. However, Kickl is beyond any doubt the architect of the FPÖ’s historic victory.

Looking for alternative partners 

Boycotting him or his party would strengthen Kickl’s basic argument that the other parties are working against democracy and the will and interests of the Austrian people. Any new government that will not include the FPÖ will be delegitimized by the Freedom Party and its followers.

Even within the FPÖ’s most likely partners, the outgoing ruling ÖVP, which ended five years of experimental coalition with the Greens very weakened, there is strong opposition to forming a new coalition with the far-right. The Conservatives might look for alternative partners in the Center-Left, and that might have a negative effect on the pro-Israel legacy that Sebastian Kurz left behind him.

Therefore, Israel must be extremely cautious with its reaction to the new political situation in Austria. There is no doubt that Austria’s conservative party under its current leadership is a true friend of Israel, and this friendship should be preserved.

However, among the FPÖ members and voters, there are supporters of Israel who see themselves as facing the same radical Islamist threat as Israel. It would be unwise for Israel to turn its back on them. 

On the contrary, channels of communication and dialogue with Israel’s friends within the FPÖ should be opened. This may be a way to influence the party’s positions on issues important to Israel and Jews. A rapprochement should not be done at any price and without conditions. However, a systematic blind boycott attitude could be harmful to Israel’s interests.