Comparison with Hitler: FPÖ Chief Kickl Receives 5,000 Euro Compensation

FPÖ chairman Herbert Kickl has won a media law case he brought against the non-partisan civil society initiative "Platform Democracy Austria" in the first instance. On Tuesday, the Vienna Regional Court upheld a private lawsuit he had filed for defamation. Kickl was awarded compensation of 5,000 euros, and the defendant was ordered to publish the judgment and pay the costs.

Video Drew Parallels Between Hitler and Kickl

The association run by Robert Luschnik - former federal managing director of the Greens and then until August 2023 federal managing director of the NEOS - had warned against Kickl in a video titled "People's Chancellor Kickl" before the last national elections. In the video, which was accessible via a link on Youtube, parallels were drawn between Adolf Hitler and Herbert Kickl. Initially, Kickl's face was shown, which was then blended with that of Hitler's, before the question "Do you want to vote for someone like this?" appeared on the screen in larger letters.

Kickl's legal representative Christoph Völk - the FPÖ chairman was not personally present at the trial - initially described the video as "unbelievably tasteless". He then stressed that a "democratically legitimized politician" should not have to put up with being "equated with the greatest mass murderer in history." For Maria Windhager, the legal representative of the platform, on the other hand, there was a "sufficient factual substrate" that justified the comparison. Kickl repeatedly resorts to "stylistic devices and codes of Nazi propaganda", hence the "critical juxtaposition" in question was permissible.

Judge Saw "Line Crossed"

Judge Nicole Baczak saw it differently. The video had "crossed a line". Hitler stands "for the abolition of democracy, genocide, the extermination of Jews and much more". In the form of the "direct blending", the impression is created that Kickl is to be equated with him in terms of behaviour and actions. There is no "factual substrate" for this.

Windhager immediately appealed against the court decision. The verdict is therefore not legally binding. Less than 24 hours before, the FPÖ had won an injunction against the "Platform Democracy Austria" at the Vienna Commercial Court, where the Hitler comparison had also been at issue. This verdict, which was associated with 4,000 euros in damages and a three-month publication of the judgment via Google Ads, is also not legally binding.

Kickl's lawsuits are "not about the money", his legal representative emphasized during the media law hearing in the Grey House. "It's about the good reputation," Völk insisted, having shown himself willing to settle at the beginning of the trial. With an "appropriate apology" and a donation of 20,000 euros to the St. Anna Children's Hospital, an out-of-court settlement would have been possible, Völk had offered the defendant a settlement offer. She did not have the "authority" to do so, Windhager did not respond to this.

(APA/Red)

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