Burgenland - Hungarian Campaign Support for Hofer
At the press conference in Vienna on Wednesday, Gulyás responded to a related APA question, saying it was a "friendly conversation" with Hofer. However, Hungary respects the election decision of the people of Burgenland, he emphasized.
Highway Expansion Topic of Press Conference Before Burgenland Election
The actual topic of the press conference in the run-up to the Burgenland election, which takes place next Sunday, was the highway expansion in North Burgenland. The FPÖ is advocating for a gap closure between the Austrian Southeast Motorway (A3) and the Hungarian M85 near Sopron, while the Burgenland SPÖ is essentially against it. While Hofer emphasized that the expansion would relieve the communities of noise and traffic, the affected localities fear the opposite. As a representative of the Hungarian government, Gulyás emphasized that Budapest hopes for a "good solution" - however, he left no doubt that this refers to the gap closure. The Minister of the Chancellery also serves as the leading government spokesman in Hungary.
Gulyás: "Intelligence Security and Cooperation are Beyond Politics"
Gulyás also addressed the issue of intelligence cooperation between Austria and Hungary in response to a question. "Intelligence security and cooperation are beyond politics," he emphasized. "We will always work together in this area with the federal government, no matter how the Austrian voters have decided." This also applies to Germany. Not cooperating contradicts both Hungary's national security interest and the European one, the minister emphasized.
In view of a possible upcoming government participation of the FPÖ, intelligence experts had also expressed to the APA the assessment that the exchange of Russia-related information of Western intelligence services with Austria "could come to a standstill". In 2018, under the then FPÖ Interior Minister Herbert Kickl, there was a raid on the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (BVT). The Austrian state security was banned from the so-called Bern Club due to serious security concerns, an unofficial association of Western intelligence services. At that time, other Western intelligence services no longer shared sensitive information with Vienna. The BVT has since been replaced by the Directorate for State Security Intelligence Service (DSN). Despite the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Hungary's government also maintains good relations with Moscow.
Close Relationships Between FPÖ and Fidesz
The FPÖ and Hungary's long-standing ruling party Fidesz have both been part of the far-right faction "Patriots for Europe" (PfE) in the European Parliament since the summer. There are long-standing close relationships between the two parties. At the end of October, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán paid a visit to National Council President Walter Rosenkranz (FPÖ) and also met with the FPÖ leadership, including party leader Kickl, in Parliament.
Criticism After Hungarian Election Support for Hofer
The SPÖ Burgenland immediately expressed strong criticism of Gulyás' election support for Hofer. "Such 'interference' by a foreign politician in a regional election in Austria has not been seen before. This raises many questions, especially for a party that likes to campaign with 'Austria first'. This proves once again that the Burgenland Hofer-FPÖ values their political alliance partner from Hungary more than the interests of the Burgenlanders," commented the SPÖ club chairman in the Burgenland state parliament, Roland Fürst, in a press release.
(APA/Red)
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