FPÖ in secret meeting with right-wing populists
The Freedom Party (FPÖ) has taken part in a secret meeting with other western European right-wing populists, as well as the leader of the Russian Eurasian movement, according to a Swiss newspaper.
FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache and chairman of the Vienna FPÖ Johann Gudenus are said to have joined the meeting on Saturday at Vienna’s Palais Liechtenstein.
The Tages-Anzeiger reports that the event was hosted by the Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeew and his foundation Saint Basil the Great. Alexander Dugin, known as the chief ideologue of the Eurasian Movement, is also said to have attended the meeting.
Dugin has repeatedly called for a war of aggression against Ukraine. He was a professor of sociology at the State University of Moscow and is seen by some to have some influence on President Vladimir Putin’s thinking. Last month he referred to Austrian Eurovision Song Contest Winner Conchita Wurst as "the devil personified".
Members of the French National Front, Marion Marechal-Le Pen, granddaughter of the party's founder and the niece of Marine Le Pen, also took part, along with right-wing politicians from Bulgaria and Croatia, according to the report.
The official theme of the secret meeting was the historic Vienna congress, which 200 years ago aimed to provide a long-term peace for Europe by settling critical issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
The invitation to the event elaborated on the theme, saying that today Europeans and Christians are once more faced with historical and geopolitical conditions which make it necessary to "revive the spirit of the Holy Alliance", according to Tages-Anzeiger. There was also reportedly discussion of how Europe could be saved from liberalism and the "satanic" gay lobby.
The newspaper said that the press and the public were not informed of the meeting, and that participants were sworn to secrecy. Strache is reported to have snapped a mobile phone photo at the conference table, and to have been reprimanded by the conference chairman Malofeew
Strache and Gudenus made no comment when contacted by the Austrian Press Agency about the meeting.
Comments
See Also
FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache and chairman of the Vienna FPÖ Johann Gudenus are said to have joined the meeting on Saturday at Vienna’s Palais Liechtenstein.
The Tages-Anzeiger reports that the event was hosted by the Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeew and his foundation Saint Basil the Great. Alexander Dugin, known as the chief ideologue of the Eurasian Movement, is also said to have attended the meeting.
Dugin has repeatedly called for a war of aggression against Ukraine. He was a professor of sociology at the State University of Moscow and is seen by some to have some influence on President Vladimir Putin’s thinking. Last month he referred to Austrian Eurovision Song Contest Winner Conchita Wurst as "the devil personified".
Members of the French National Front, Marion Marechal-Le Pen, granddaughter of the party's founder and the niece of Marine Le Pen, also took part, along with right-wing politicians from Bulgaria and Croatia, according to the report.
The official theme of the secret meeting was the historic Vienna congress, which 200 years ago aimed to provide a long-term peace for Europe by settling critical issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
The invitation to the event elaborated on the theme, saying that today Europeans and Christians are once more faced with historical and geopolitical conditions which make it necessary to "revive the spirit of the Holy Alliance", according to Tages-Anzeiger. There was also reportedly discussion of how Europe could be saved from liberalism and the "satanic" gay lobby.
The newspaper said that the press and the public were not informed of the meeting, and that participants were sworn to secrecy. Strache is reported to have snapped a mobile phone photo at the conference table, and to have been reprimanded by the conference chairman Malofeew
Strache and Gudenus made no comment when contacted by the Austrian Press Agency about the meeting.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.