“Europe Needs Peace, Freedom and Prosperity” – An Interview with FPÖ MEP Harald Vilimsky

What are the main measures advocated by the FPÖ, and why do you think they are necessary in Austria?

We witness that the EU is developing in the wrong direction and is focusing more and more on Brussels and less on the nation states.

We want to reverse this trend, as we believe that only nation states can guarantee that more democracy, more proximity to citizens and better decisions can take place at a smaller level.

In addition, we naturally want to put an end to the migration pact and take a much stricter line here by adopting the principle of Australia’s ‘no way’ system. Finally, we, as the FPÖ have always said that we uphold our neutrality and, to this end, want to campaign for peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

Harald Vilimsky at a press conference in 2019
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

What is the situation with illegal immigration in Austria? We have seen that your party came first in the European elections. Is this an indication that something is wrong?

We have had more asylum applications in recent years under a black-green federal government than in 2015.

We see that certain districts in Vienna are developing into “no-go” areas, with de facto daily stabbings among migrants, and the police are also repeatedly confronted with these acts of violence. People are realizing these negative developments and are now seeing that what they read about in the newspapers in Paris or London just five years ago is now happening right on their doorstep.

Accordingly, the left can no longer maintain the illusion of the “well-educated refugee who is willing to integrate,” although certain mediums in particular are trying to perpetuate this myth. We have a very clear program: close the borders, an absolute ban on asylum, and repatriate all illegal migrants in the country.

FPÖ has high expectations for these September elections, do you think you can win with an absolute majority? If you did not obtain a majority, would you be willing to make a pact with the ÖVP?

The EU election campaign has shown that the FPÖ stands out from its competitors in many areas. Particularly when it comes to euro-political issues, we are critical of the current development of the EU and want to introduce fundamental reforms that primarily strengthen the role of nation-states, fight illegal migration and want to reverse the Green Deal as a dangerous experiment. In this respect, we are the only real opposition force in Austria, while parties such as the Christian Conservatives, the Socialists, the Liberals, or the Greens only differ in nuances. In this respect, I believe that we have a very good chance of coming first.

How the coalition talks will then develop will of course also depend on the election result. According to the polls, the majority of Austrians would be in favour of a new FPÖ-ÖVP coalition. But rumour has it that a coalition against the right is already being forged behind the scenes, but I give it a very short survival time, as it will have to be forged from at least three parties.

Turning to the European stage, a few weeks ago, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, FPÖ president Herbert Kickl, and former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis presented the new European group, Patriots for Europe, at a press conference. Why was this party created, and how does it differ from the old ID and ECR?

Our ambition has always been to create the largest possible patriotic force that grows in strength and size over time.

The Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group was the beginning in 2015, the ID the continuation and the ‘Patriots’ will form a continuous strength of patriotic forces at European political level.

We are very confident here and with our Hungarian and French friends, we have two reliable driving forces that will take this group forward.

We, as the FPÖ, want to play our part and, above all, act as a bridge builder for all European patriots, in keeping with the tradition of our small but very diplomatically successful country.

Vilimsky with Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders (Source: Harald Vilimsky’s Twitter account)

Patriots for Europe has become the third-largest group in the European Parliament. What are the expectations of the party and how do you face the next legislature? Also, will there be collaboration with different conservative groups?

Of course, we maintain good links with the ECR and the newly founded ESN (Europe of Sovereign and Nations) and want to find common ground here at the parliamentary level and express this accordingly in our parliamentary and political work. I am also very confident that we have a number of subject areas.

The core topics of this group are, of course, the return of competences from Brussels to the national level and a strong and consistent asylum and migration policy, which should remain the responsibility of the nation-states.

We also take a very critical view of the development of the Green Deal and call on the EPP, in particular, to honour its promise to stop insanities such as the ban on combustion engines.

On the international scene, we have seen that United States Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has already chosen his candidate for Vice President in JD Vance. How do you see this candidacy? Do you think Donald Trump needs to return to the White House?

I believe that Donald Trump is the only guarantee that normality will return to the US and to Europe. In the years without Trump, the USA has taken significant steps backwards – both nationally and internationally. This was mainly due to Joe Biden, who, to put it politely, did not give the impression of being a strong and competent US president.

Yes, Donald Trump must return to the White House because it would also be a turnaround for Europe and would put a clear spanner in the works of left-liberal ideology and EU centralists. We absolutely need normalization. That means no ideological experiments, which have often been imposed on Europeans by the USA.

Europe needs peace, freedom and prosperity – Trump can contribute to this.