In addition to National Council President Walter Rosenkranz, Tyrol's state party chairman Markus Abwerzger also attended. Vienna's state party leader Dominik Nepp was scheduled to give a speech. As usual, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl stayed away from the event. Also among the guests: the Identitarian Martin Sellner.

As the official opening speaker at the event, criticized by opponents as an international networking meeting of right-wing extremists, this year - unlike the previous two years - Rosenkranz was not planned (then still as an ombudsman), but a medical professional from the academic field. However, it was said in advance that Rosenkranz wanted to be part of the opening.

Academics Ball Vienna 2025: FPÖ Leader Kickl Announced Absence

Among those spotted upon arrival were FPÖ ombudswoman Elisabeth Schwetz and FPÖ "veteran" Andreas Mölzer, as well as former ÖVP politician Ursula Stenzel, who ran on an FPÖ ticket in the 2015 Vienna election and then entered the Vienna state parliament.

FPÖ leader Kickl had already announced his absence in advance. Meanwhile, Martin Sellner has become a regular guest at the ball. The former head of the "Identitarian Movement," classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, willingly presented himself to the cameras in front of the Hofburg.

According to the FPÖ, also represented at the ball, which organizer Udo Guggenbichler claims is sold out, are Vienna's FPÖ club chairman Maximilian Krauss, Burgenland's second state parliament president Johann Tschürtz, EU parliamentarian Petra Steger, and Wels mayor Andreas Rabl. However, a regular guest, former party leader Norbert Hofer, stayed away this year. The current state party leader in Burgenland is reportedly on vacation.

In the past, the event has repeatedly been accompanied by sometimes intense protests. The discontent was always primarily directed against German-national fraternities, who have been organizing and shaping the event since 1952. Until 2012, the event was organized by the Vienna Corporations Ring (WKR). After disagreements with the Vienna Hofburg, the FPÖ Vienna took over the organization, renaming it the "Academics Ball."

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(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.