Don’t worry, there’s only one Orbán.
The sudden reversal of fortunes of Austria’s far right this week has fueled fears Brussels could soon find itself dealing with German-speaking Orbán in a few weeks.
Don't believe everything you read. A more likely outcome is some kind of 'Orbán Lite.'
Though there are plenty of reasons to be worried about Kickl – an Old Hegelian who fantasises about turning Austria into an Alpine “fortress” (sound familiar?) – his fondness for Orbánism is not one of them.
Put simply, Kickl does not have it in him. Whatever one thinks of Orbán, he is a man of the people. His secret weapon? Charisma. That can hardly be said of Kickl, a notoriously acerbic figure whose reputation is best described by his sobriquet: Giftzwerg (poison dwarf).
Kickl is the rare example of a politician who rose to power not because of his personality but despite it. In fact, only 2% of Freedom Party voters (FPÖ) cited Kickl as the reason for their support of the far right following last September’s election.
Even if Kickl were a genuinely popular populist, there is a more prosaic reason he would not fulfil his pledge to “follow Orbán’s lead”: he does not have the votes.
His party, which is likely to form a coalition with the centre-right People’s Party (ÖVP) following the upheaval of recent days, carried 29% of the vote. The ÖVP, about 26%.
That means Kickl will not be able to fundamentally retool Austria’s constitution à la Orbán – as much as he would like to. | 