“I’m a working-class kid, I grew up in a working-class setting, maybe not so different from Mr. Babler in terms of essentials,” the 55-year-old makes people sit up and take notice call them at the beginning of the year. the summer speech Ö3 “Breakfast with me”. The “breakfast” with the presenter Claudia Stöckl took place in the Forellenhof in Puchberg am Schneeberg (Lower Austria) – “my second small town,” says Kickl. The main topics were the chancellor, the so-called political “problems”, but also personal details.
“But it never came to light from this story, because we had less compared to others, I was a little jealous of the others. We had a different approach: We said we wanted to do something ourselves, to be able to achieve something, to have a chance,” the FPÖ leader said in an interview.
“These are the problem bears”
When asked if he ever doubted himself, Kickl replied: “That happens all the time with big decisions. The question of suitability as a member of the National Council, for example. I wasn’t sure if I could do it, if I was up to the task. Or should I be Home Minister. It is not the people who question themselves that are dangerous, but those who do not question themselves. These are the problem bears. I approach such tasks with great respect and humility.”
“The public always gives the impression when one is dealing with philosophical things that they are ‘too stupid to deal with in real life’, that one must fail in real life. And I wanted to correct that image with this sentence. Of course, what I learned there was not professional training, but it was an important foundation from which I benefited greatly. The technical things you have to learn in politics can only be learned in politics. That you have to bring a party too. It’s not the employees I have that I can replace tomorrow, that’s a big difference to the economy. Everything depends on them, I need them for an electoral movement, I have to thank them for investing their heart and soul and their time in this project.”
Private insights
Not only politics, but also private matters were discussed at “Breakfast with me”. He has been with his wife Petra, a lawyer at the Ombudsman’s Office, for over 25 years. There was no thought of staying home to raise the now 24-year-old son, Kickl says. “She always made me understand, and she also lived, that no one could do that better than a mother. But of course I didn’t leave my wife alone with him. Fighting around with your father is more fun than with your mother,” said the FPÖ leader.
“In dealing there are winners and losers”
Regarding the upcoming National Council election campaign in September, Kickl says: “There are definitely winners and losers. If we do not prioritize, the FPÖ will have no claim on the chancellor. And I am surprised that Nehammer and Babler are not speaking this sentence. These are the self-proclaimed parade Democrats. For them, democracy ends when the SPÖ or the ÖVP is no longer in charge.”