Far-right FPO won general election but had no majority
15/11/2024 6:05
Austrian prosecutors have
asked parliament to lift far-right leader Herbert Kickl's
immunity over an allegation that he committed perjury testifying
to a parliamentary committee, the office of the lower house's
speaker confirmed on Thursday.
News magazine Profil reported earlier on Thursday that the
Central Prosecutors' Office for Economic Crimes and Corruption
(WKStA) had sent the request to the office of speaker Walter
Rosenkranz, who is from Kickl's Freedom Party.
Profil said the request followed a statement sent to
prosecutors by Andreas Hanger, who was then a lawmaker from
Chancellor Karl Nehammer's conservative People's Party, alleging
Kickl had lied about a range of issues including advertisements
in print media paid for by the Freedom Party (FPO).
"I can confirm that the request has been received by
parliament," a spokesman for Rosenkranz said, declining to
comment further.
A spokesperson for the FPO referred Reuters to a report by
news agency APA quoting a statement by the parliamentary party
as saying Kickl had spoken the truth in his testimony in April.
The WKStA cannot open an investigation unless Kickl's
parliamentary immunity as a lawmaker is lifted. A spokesperson
for the WKStA said that it was not investigating Kickl.
The FPO came first in September's parliamentary election
with around 29% of the vote and now has the most seats in
parliament. Since a party needs to control a majority of seats
to govern and no other party was willing to govern with it,
three other parties are now in coalition talks.
Speaker Rosenkranz must now submit the request to the lower
house's immunity committee, which will then draw up a report
before the chamber decides whether Kickl's immunity should be
lifted, Profil said.
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