60% support aid to Ukraine and 57% approve of sanctions against the Kremlin. These are the results Eurobarometer survey, conducted at the end of last year in Austria – as part of a pan-European survey of public opinion about the war in Ukraine. This is one of the lowest indicators in the European Union: the average level of support for Ukraine in the EU is 74%.
Austria helps Ukrainian refugees – they are in the country from March until the end of 2022 registered about 90 thousand. Against the background of other countries of Central Europe, this is not much: the neighboring Czech Republic, which is adjacent in terms of size and population, received more than 400,000. Vienna does not provide any military and technical assistance to Kyiv, arguing that Austria is a neutral country.
In the ratings of political parties, along with the Social Democrats, the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) leads: for her ready to vote about 30% of voters. In the past, the FPÖ was known for its rather close contacts with the Kremlin. Last fall, the Austrian Freedom Party demanded to hold a nationwide referendum on sanctions against Russia, accusing the government of violating the principle of neutrality by embroiling Austria in “economic warfare.”
“Families, workers, entrepreneurs, pensioners and young people are forced to pay for the sanctions madness of the EU and the government, and they are not even asked if they are ready to do it,” the party leader said at the time Herbert Kickle.
Has Austria become a weak link in the chain of solidarity with Ukraine, which has been demonstrated by European countries since the beginning of the Russian invasion?
According to the words Benjamin Schmitta researcher from the Center for European Political Analysis (SULFUR), after the start of a full-scale war in Ukraine, “Austria’s position as a self-proclaimed “bridge between Russia and the West” was called into question… It turned out that the desire to be between the two poles does not contribute to ending the conflict.” However, neutrality, which is one of the constitutional principles of the Republic of Austria, is not questioned by almost anyone in the country: the level of its support in society does not fall below 80%. In this, Austria is very different from two other EU countries – Sweden and Finland, which until recently also maintained a neutral position: after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both submitted applications to join NATO.
In the context, the neutral policy of Vienna is emphasized, no protests were caused in the country by last year’s visit to Moscow Austrian Chancellor Carl Neghammer. After the talks with Putin, Negammer told reporters that he did not have pleasant impressions from this conversation, but noted that “Putin is determined to resolve the Donbas issue,” even despite the sanctions. It was in April, since then the situation both at the front in Ukraine and in world politics has changed noticeably, but it is characteristic that Negammer remains the only leader of an EU country who visited Moscow already after the beginning of the invasion.
Features of Austrian policy in the context of the war in Ukraine for Radio Svoboda Anton Shekhovtsovdirector of analytical Center for Democratic Integritybased in Vienna.
– Austria does not provide military and technical assistance to Ukraine, citing its status as a neutral state. Does this correspond to the sentiments of both ruling circles and society in general?
– The leading parties – the People’s Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the Freedom Party – focus on practical interests, mainly business. There are others – the Greens, for example, or the centrist NEOS party, which consistently defends value orientations in politics. But her electorate is 10-11%. A purely pragmatic approach dominates.
– Last year’s negotiations between Karl Neghammer and Vladimir Putin in Moscow did not bring any breakthroughs, but what does the very fact that they took place indicate? Are there any special relations between Vienna and Moscow?
– Yes, there is. I do not claim to know exactly the reasons for Neghammer’s visit, but I can assume with sufficient confidence that it was discussed, in particular, how Austria, without publicly questioning the European consensus on the Kremlin, could get some preferences from Russia that would allowed to maintain a certain level of trade and economic relations.
Austria, without publicly questioning the European consensus regarding the Kremlin, could receive some preferences from Russia
– Judging by public opinion polls, the right-wing populist Freedom Party has completely recovered its position after the scandal with its former leader Heinz-Christian Strache. What explains this?
– I will single out three points. The first – in Austria as a whole, the electoral potential of the far-right has been quite high for a long time, 20 years: about 30%. This is a feature of Austrian political culture, although in most European countries this “ceiling” is lower. Austria has already had two coalition governments with the participation of the Freedom Party. So now this party is somewhere near the peak of its popularity, but it is not out of the norm. The second factor is that the FPÖ has been a major political force that has been openly skeptical of many restrictive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. And this coincided with the views of a significant part of Austrian society, there were many “Covid-dissidents”. The Freedom Party earned points on this. And the third is the influx of some voters, disappointed with the policies of the conservatives – the People’s Party, which currently leads the ruling coalition – to the FPÖ.
– The Freedom Party had a completely official agreement on cooperation with “United Russia”, FPÖ leaders willingly traveled to Moscow, established contacts with pro-Putin politicians. After February 24, 2022, are these contacts interrupted or not advertised?
– I would not attach much importance to this agreement with the “EU”, it was more of a symbolic gesture, and it was promoted by the small pro-Russian wing of the Freedom Party. After the Strache scandal in May 2019 and subsequent intra-party vicissitudes, this group was neutralized – unlike Alternative for Germany and some other European populist and nationalist parties, where pro-Kremlin figures remain influential. After that, the FPÖ took a strictly isolationist and neutral position regarding the war in Ukraine.
Issues of values, human rights, etc. are perceived as secondary
– In the spirit of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who says frankly: “This is not our war”?
– No, a little better than Orban. Members of the European Parliament from the Freedom Party almost always abstain from voting on resolutions related to the war in Ukraine or criticizing Russia. This, by the way, is normal for the Austrian right – they are in favor of neutrality. Being pro-Russian for them, on the contrary, is somewhat unnatural. But in the current situation, a neutral position undoubtedly plays into the hands of the Kremlin. In itself, this position is very pragmatic: if it is profitable for Austrian business to cooperate with Russia, it is necessary to cooperate, it is profitable, let’s say, with Germany – let’s do it too. And issues of values, human rights, etc. are perceived as secondary. This, as I said, is characteristic of the Austrian establishment in general, not just the Freedom Party.
– The fact that public support for Ukraine and anti-Kremlin sanctions in Austria is weaker than in most other EU countries is, again, a consequence of commitment to neutrality?
– Yes, we can mention history here. When in 1955 the Soviet Union agreed to the proposal of the Western powers to end the post-war occupation of Austria (in 1945, Austria, which was part of the Third Reich in 1938–1945, was, like Germany, divided into zones of occupation by the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France – ed.), this was done in exchange for the fact that the Austrian constitution enshrined the principle of the country’s military neutrality. Regarding this, we can say, only slightly exaggerating, that the modern Austrian nation, for which the principle of neutrality is very important, was created by the Soviet Union. To be rich and neutral has become something of an Austrian national idea. Yes, Austria is ready to provide assistance to those who need this assistance, but only without crossing certain “red lines” so as not to annoy its other friends – more precisely, not friends, but business partners.
– Neutral countries often become, precisely because of their status, platforms for various secret contacts of the parties during international conflicts, as well as a place for “spy games”, confrontation between special services of different countries. During the Second World War, for example, neutral Switzerland, Sweden and Turkey played this role. Is there evidence of the activity of Russian special services and agents of influence in Austria after the start of the invasion of Ukraine?
Spy here one after another, but without excesses
– I don’t have any completely fresh specific data, but periodically agents of Russian, and not only Russian, special services in Austria are exposed. However, there are specific points. Yes, Vienna is the well-known capital of international espionage. First of all, because the headquarters of the OSCE and the IAEA are located here. That is, everyone is present here, in particular, with their spies – the USA, Russia, China, and Iran… And regarding international espionage, there is a consensus among the Austrian political elite: they say, spy here one after another, but without excesses, relatively speaking , without murders and shootings on the streets, and yes – what to do, we can’t prevent it anyway.
Therefore, espionage scandals often arise as a result of the fact that other Western intelligence agencies leak information to the Austrian side about, say, Russian or Chinese intelligence activities in Austria, in order to force Vienna to move a little, to act in some way. This happened shortly after the Skripal poisoning story, when Western countries and their allies expelled a large number of Russian diplomats. Even Hungary then expelled one person, but Austria did not expel anyone, citing neutrality. And then the Western special services made public his data about a Russian agent in the Austrian army. It was such a slap in the face of Austria for the lack of solidarity, says political analyst Anton Shekhovtsov.
