It seems that not a day goes by without the leader of one of the Patriots for Europe (PfE) member parties being targeted by their political opponents through the judiciary. The latest victim of this witch-hunt-like campaign against right-wing politicians is Herbert Kickl, leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), who co-founded the PfE in Vienna at the end of June alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Andrej Babiš, former Czech Prime Minister and Chairman of the ANO party.
According to media reports, Austrian prosecutors have requested that parliament lift Kickl’s immunity over an allegation of perjury related to his testimony before a parliamentary committee. The news was confirmed by the speaker of the Austrian lower house on Thursday.
Kickl is being prosecuted based on allegations made by former MEP Andreas Hanger of the EPP, who claims that Kickl lied about various issues, including advertisements in print media funded by FPÖ. Referring to an earlier statement, an FPÖ spokesman asserted that the party leader had spoken the truth in his testimony in April.
The FPÖ secured 29 per cent of the vote and the largest number of mandates in the September parliamentary elections; however, with no mainstream party willing to form a coalition with them, there is a possibility they will be excluded from Austria’s next government.
A Campaign Against PfE?
The news came just a day after prosecutors requested the imprisonment, fine, and the ban from public office of Marine Le Pen, a prominent figure in the French right-wing National Rally (RN) and their potential presidential candidate. As reported by Hungarian Conservative, prosecutors allege that Le Pen, her party, and 24 other individuals— including current and former French lawmakers— illegally used European Parliament funds to pay parliamentary assistants for work related to party business rather than EU affairs between 2004 and 2016. Le Pen and her co-defendants have denied the charges. Prosecutors have called for the harshest penalty for Le Pen: five years in prison, three of which would be suspended, a €300,000 fine, and a five-year ban on standing for public office.
Le Pen’s party is the largest in the PfE, and the RN also provides the president of the political group, Jordan Bardella. Orbán reacted to the news in a post on X, stating: ‘Marine, please remember we are with you in this battle!’ The Hungarian prime minister added: ‘Don’t forget: being harassed by the judiciary was a crucial step towards victory for President @realDonaldTrump.’
In September, prosecutors requested a six-year prison sentence for the leader of the Italian League Party, another key member of Patriots for Europe (PfE). Matteo Salvini’s ‘crime’ was simply attempting to protect Italy’s borders from a flood of illegal immigrants. The former Interior Minister and current Deputy Prime Minister has been charged with kidnapping for refusing to allow 147 migrants, rescued by the Spanish NGO Open Arms in 2019, to disembark in Lampedusa.
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