The Viennese FPÖ leader Dominik Nepp likes to work on the bosses of the other city parties – as was the case in the KURIER interview. When it comes to migration, he takes his usual harsh tone.
KURIER: Do you like living in Vienna?
Dominik Nepp: Very much. I grew up here, went to school here and don’t plan on leaving here.
If you listen to the FPÖ, it sounds as if Vienna is a catastrophic city with even more catastrophic conditions. How does that fit together?
Since I am a true Viennese, I know how Vienna has changed over the years and decades. I went to school in the 16th district, to the elementary school, and there was no major problem with migrants back then. We want Vienna to be as safe as it once was, to be as socially fair as it once was and, in certain postal codes, it is not necessary to send children to private schools.
There was also migration in your youth.
I went to school in the 80s and 90s. Of course, there were many who came to us because of the Yugoslavia crisis, but they integrated very well. Before that, during my parents’ time, there were many from Eastern Europe who fled communist regimes. They have also integrated perfectly here. So that’s not the problem. The problem is that there was an enormous turning point in 2015, when hundreds of thousands of people came to Europe, who then of course remain settled where it is easiest to get social benefits.
You talk about a turning point in 2015. The FPÖ had previously taken up the migration issue. Isn’t this just worth it to get votes?
That’s not what it is about. It’s about addressing the problem. And yes, of course there were problems in the area of integration before, but they solved them as best as possible. Of course there are still black sheep from back then, but what we see now is a completely different quality of immigration under the guise of asylum. These are people who don’t want to deal with us, they don’t want to learn the language, they don’t want to become part of society either.
What would you change?
You first have to have the courage to say what went wrong. The integration policy in Vienna, where the SPÖ has been in charge for decades, has simply failed. The second thing is that they say that if you don’t want to integrate, you have to leave. And you have to be so honest and discuss the Geneva Refugee Convention, which was intended for political refugees within Europe. Or about the European Convention on Human Rights, which is almost 70 years old.
Do you want to change the human rights convention?
I can change every law set by humans. Adaptations are needed here in order to put national interests and, above all, the security of citizens in the foreground.
In Austria and Germany, people are taking to the streets because of rising right-wing extremism. What do you say to that?
I always find it interesting when those in government have to demonstrate against the opposition. Normally it is always the other way around. This shows a certain helplessness on the part of those in power. One could take the parliamentary route to find improvements for the citizens.
It was mostly citizens on the streets.
There were around 40,000 people in front of the parliament in Vienna. With two million inhabitants, a large part of the population was not on the streets.
As the FPÖ, shouldn’t we still draw a line with the Identitarians?
The FPÖ is the FPÖ, the Identitarians are the Identitarians, the communists are the communists, the SPÖ is the SPÖ. Everyone knows what they stand for. You don’t have to constantly distance yourself from something.
In Vienna in particular, all other parties are ruling out a government with the Kickl-FPÖ. Would you sometimes wish for a more moderate federal party so that you could have the opportunity to govern?
There is only one FPÖ. Ultimately, we look at the people involved in the other parties and who is still in charge after the election. According to the current surveys, Andreas Babler’s claim to be chancellor will not be fulfilled, nor will Karl Nehammer’s. Perhaps sensible forces will prevail in the parties that do not exclude the 30, 27 or 32 percent of the electorate in advance. That is actually anti-democratic.
Who would you most like to govern with?
It is important to implement liberal positions in the areas of security and border protection and in social matters. We will see later who is most willing to implement these successful liberal positions together with us.
You like to describe the Vienna ÖVP leader Karl Mahrer as your best man.
Yes. May he stay with us for a long time.
Isn’t he taking away your votes because he’s also focusing on the issue of integration?
Not at all. I also constantly defend him in internal ÖVP disputes. Walter Ruck from the Vienna Chamber of Commerce has wanted to get rid of him for a long time because he doesn’t make any progress. Mahrer should also play on our topics, the important thing is that they appear in the media. He does it in a nonsense way and attracts attention with strange videos where he films homeless people. Anyone who wants a tough migration policy goes to Schmied and not to Schmiedl and therefore to the FPÖ.
Another term you like to use: “Robber Rathausplatz” for Michael Ludwig. What would you do differently if you were mayor?
When I am mayor in 2025, I will introduce fee relief within the first 48 hours. Where the city can intervene directly, for example with rent in Vienna’s municipal housing, we are reducing the level back to that of 2020, as well as the fees. People who don’t have a good life anyway live in community housing. I don’t understand how heartlessly they are increasing the standard rent here again.
If you lower fees and rents, the money has to come from somewhere else. How is that supposed to work?
There are many options in Vienna. If you take all of Mayor Ludwig’s projects alone, which have cost a lot of money so far but have not achieved anything yet. For example, this disaster with the new event hall, where you now have to go back to the start because the tender didn’t work. We have also had major projects in the past where a lot of money could have been saved, such as the North Hospital, which now costs 1.4 billion instead of the forecast 650 million.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer wants to ban the Binnen-I. Are you using it?
I think the internal I, unspoken asterisks and pauses are not practical and it sounds strange. For me, there are basically only two genders: man and woman, and there is nothing in between. And that’s exactly why I usually use the male and female forms, i.e. “Dear Sir or Madam”. If you want something different, you should go to the Green Party and develop click sounds in workshops there.
What issue would you take to the streets to demonstrate?
That’s a good question. I believe when it comes to restricting civil rights. But as an elected politician, I address what I hear on the street in the town hall and then bring it to the parliamentary stage.
2024-02-06 20:19:37
#dont #distancing
