Vienna has deported a convicted Afghan criminal to Kabul, the first such deportation from Austria since the Taliban returned to power in the war-ravaged country in 2021. Austria’s Chancellor Christian Stocker confirmed the deportation on Tuesday morning, writing on X: “Anyone who doesn’t follow our rules will have to leave.” He added: “With this, Austria is sending a clear message: Zero tolerance toward all those who have forfeited their right of residence through criminal offenses.” Deportations to Afghanistan have been controversial. Pro-asylum groups consider it an unsafe country where deportees could face the threat of persecution by the Taliban, which has not been officially recognized as the ruling government by any EU country. According to the Austrian public broadcaster ORF, the deportee was convicted of a sex offense and severe assault, and spent four years in an Austrian prison. A spokesperson for Vienna’s Interior Ministry told POLITICO: “Austria deports convicted criminals to their home countries. If that’s not currently possible in a specific case, we work hard and consistently to make sure it will be possible in the future.” Stocker said the Interior Ministry plans further deportations. His government also resumed deportations to Syria and Somalia earlier this year. The first Afghan deportation came two days after Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner of the conservative Austrian’s People’s Party (ÖVP) discussed the issue with Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell. Last Thursday, Karner, Forssell and 18 other EU migration ministers sent a joint letter to EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, urging the bloc to allow the “voluntary or forced return” of Afghan nationals. European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert told journalists Monday that the EU was in “close contact with member states” on the issue. “Earlier this year we have initiated exploratory contacts at technical level with the de facto authorities in Afghanistan. We are ready to continue supporting member states in their efforts,” he said. Austria’s neighbor Germany resumed deportations of Afghans to Kabul in August 2024.

Daniel Harper is a British Iranian multimedia journalist, residing and working in the EU, specializing in migration, women’s rights and human rights. His work has appeared in Euronews, Balkan Insight, GAY Times, Insider, among other publications. After a three-day mourning period, the flags above Austria’s parliament were raised from half-mast, where they’d been lowered following last month’s fatal school shooting in the country’s second city of Graz. The shooting at the high school was the deadliest in the country’s history, leaving 10 dead and several injured. Notably, the assailant had used a shotgun and handgun he’d obtained legally, despite failing a psychological screening for his required military service. According to a small arms survey, Austria is the 14th most armed country in the world, with 30 firearms per 100 inhabitants. Yet, it has often shirked from gun reform — even after the terrorist attack of November 2020, which saw assault rifles fired in central Vienna. So, for the issue to raise to the top of the agenda now, speaks volumes as to just how far this fatal incident has shoved the political dial on the country’s long-standing ambivalence to gun reform. “Nothing we do, including what we have decided today, will bring back the 10 people we lost last Tuesday. But I can promise you one thing: We will learn from this tragedy,” Chancellor Christian Stocker said, echoing that very sentiment a press conference held after the shooting. Question is, will Austria’s government finally be spurred into action? Austria’s hunting culture means gun ownership is deeply engrained in its society. Currently, 130,000 people — roughly 1.4 percent of the population — hold mandatory hunting licenses. And anyone who’s been to Austria can attest to the numerous animal heads and trophy antlers hanging on the walls of pubs and chalets. Moreover, two large weapons manufacturers, Steyr and Glock, are both headquartered in the country. And their lobbying of pro-gun political parties within the conservative faction has helped prevent previous gun reform attempts. “There is a big hunters lobby,” said Professor Roger von Laufenberg, managing director of the Vienna Center for Societal Security explained. “Especially [for] the major political parties. The Conservative Party, for example, has traditionally had a large share of voters [who are] hunters, which is why this was not really perceived as an issue for so long.” The last time gun laws were reformed in any major way in Austria was in 1997, following an EU directive imposing tighter restrictions on gun ownership — a change that, according to a report by the British Journal of Psychology, led to a drop in the rate of firearm suicides and homicides. Decades later, one of the main reforms now being discussed is raising the minimum age to buy firearms from 21 to 25. Other restrictions the chancellor suggested include raising the minimum age to own specific firearms like handguns, having gun permits expire every eight years, strengthening psychological testing and making it mandatory, sharing information across governmental agencies, as well as introducing a four-week waiting period for the delivery of a first weapon. These are all in addition to a suggested expansion of psychological support in schools across the country over the next three years. A woman leaves a candle at a makeshift memorial site near the school where several people died in a school shooting, on June 10, 2025 in Graz, southeastern Austria. | Georg Hochmuth/AFP via Getty Images This is a dramatic shift in how gun reform has been addressed by the government in previous years. Under current laws, anyone over the age of 18 can purchase certain shotguns and rifles without a permit, while other weapons, like hand pistols, require a three-day waiting period and a psychological analysis. The issue of psychological testing is especially a point of focus, as the assailant in the school shooting had passed the test to own a handgun. The process that’s drawing particular criticism is that a person is only tested once in their lifetime and never reassessed. Furthermore, despite the assailant failing his psychological exam for compulsory military service, this information was not shared with other agencies, including the police. Interestingly, just a couple weeks before the Graz shooting, Austria’s Green Party had put forward a proposal aimed at reforming gun laws. But the motion for a resolution was postponed with the votes of Austria’s coalition government. The proposed motion set out much of the same guidelines the chancellor shared with the press — tighter background checks, greater monitoring of private gun sales and a permanent gun ban for those who have restraining orders against them. The difference was that these reforms were specifically aimed at combating violence against women and girls — another problem Austria’s been dealing with for a long time. According to Green member Meri Disoksi, who proposed the reform, “almost one in two perpetrators of violence against women suffers from a mental illness” — hence the greater need for stricter psychological checks. Similarly, an Institute of Conflict Research analysis on femicides in Austria between 2010 to 2020 found that of the women assaulted with a firearm, 62.6 percent died. Even the use of illegal firearms involved with femicides has increased from 2016 to 2020, according to the study. Markus Leinfellner of the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) — a party that often blocks gun reform legislation — had criticized the proposal, speaking out against the suggestion of psychological assessments for gun owners every five years, saying it would place a financial burden on gun owners and lead to an increased workload for psychologists. It’s evident just how much the Graz shooting has changed the conversation and forced the issue of gun reform back into play, as even FPO leader Herbert Kickl didn’t come out against the chancellor’s recent proposals. He simply told lawmakers: “I don’t think now is the time to pledge or announce that this or that measure will solve a problem.” Of course, it remains to be seen whether the proposed gun reforms will eventually pass. But with Stocker now promising the country will learn from this tragedy, it seems Austria has been forced to confront the consequences of being a society so intertwined with gun culture after decades of political ambivalence. The shooting in Graz has finally pierced the illusion that legal gun ownership guarantees safety, and the country’s political parties can’t sit on the fence any longer.

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Am zweiten Tag des NATO-Gipfels in Den Haag geht es um die zentralen Streitpunkte: Die Finanzierung der europäischen Sicherheit, das auch von Kanzler Friedrich Merz vorangetriebene 5-Prozent-Ziel, eine gemeinsame Haltung gegenüber den USA und wie die Ukraine bei diesem Gipfel teils zurückstehen muss. Gordon Repinski und Rixa Fürsen analysieren aus Den Haag die Debatten vor Ort und die Machtverhältnisse. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview verteidigt Österreichs Kanzler Christian Stocker die Neutralität seines Landes. Er erklärt, warum sie aus seiner Sicht auch in einem sicherheitspolitisch veränderten Europa nicht zur Disposition steht – und wie Österreich trotzdem Teil der europäischen Verteidigungspolitik ist. Außerdem: Der Abschlussbericht zur Maskenaffäre um Jens Spahn aus dem Gesundheitsministerium sorgt für Unruhe in Berlin. Rasmus Buchsteiner hat das Papier gelesen und schätzt ein, welche politischen Folgen die Details darin für den Unions-Fraktionschef haben könnten. Und: Ein Blick hinter die Kulissen des Gipfels in Den Haag und auf das abendliche Programm dort. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es morgens um 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team bringen euch jeden Morgen auf den neuesten Stand in Sachen Politik — kompakt, europäisch, hintergründig. Und für alle Hauptstadt-Profis: Unser Berlin Playbook-Newsletter liefert jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen. Hier gibt es alle Informationen und das kostenlose Playbook-Abo. Mehr von Berlin Playbook-Host und Executive Editor von POLITICO in Deutschland, Gordon Repinski, gibt es auch hier:   Instagram: @gordon.repinski | X: @GordonRepinski.

A court in Vienna overturned the conviction of Sebastian Kurz, the country’s former chancellor and fallen conservative star, for making false statements to a parliamentary investigatory committee. Kurz had received an eight-month suspended prison sentence last year on the charge he deceived parliament under oath during a 2020 investigation into corruption allegations involving his government. Kurz led the center-right Austrian People’s Party to victory in 2017 and in 2019, but was forced to resign as chancellor in October 2021 amid a flurry of accusations of corruption. The verdict is an important victory for Kurz, whose possible return to Austrian politics is the subject of much speculation in the country. This story is being updated.

Austria’s President Alexander van der Bellen swore in the country’s new three-party government Monday, ending five months of political deadlock that followed the far right’s election victory last September. Conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) leader Christian Stocker will be the prime minister, with the center-left Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the liberal Neos party also part of the coalition government. “Good things come to those who wait,” Van der Bellen said at the beginning of his speech, as he thanked the parties for “stepping out of their comfort zones for the good of the whole country” to form the coalition. With this alliance, the centrist parties prevented the far-right, pro-Russian Freedom Party (FPÖ) from coming to power despite it winning the most votes in the election. Initial negotiations between the ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos attempted to form a government and halt the far right. However, those talks collapsed in early January over deep disagreements on fiscal policy. Consequently, far-right leader Herbert Kickl received a mandate from the president to form a government. Kickl hoped to govern with the ÖVP, but the conservatives had little appetite for being a junior partner to the FPÖ, as Kickl’s demands for sweeping tax cuts, an expansion of Austria’s debt and restrictions on EU fiscal policy clashed with the pro-European ÖVP’s policies. Those talks broke down in mid-February, forcing conservative party leader Stocker to return to the original three-party formula. The resulting coalition agreement involves a budget compromise that attempts to balance fiscal consolidation with investment in social welfare and economic growth.

Austria’s conservative Peoples’ Party (ÖVP), center-left Social Democrats (SPÖ) and liberal Neos have reached a coalition agreement after five months of political deadlock, according to multiple local media reports. The deal, which still requires approval from the Neos’ party base, prevents the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) from taking power — despite it winning the most votes in last September’s election. Conservative boss Christian Stocker will become chancellor, with the SPÖ’s Andreas Babler as vice chancellor. The negotiations followed failed attempts by FPÖ chief Herbert Kickl to form a government due to policy differences with the ÖVP. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen ultimately urged mainstream parties to find common ground as economic concerns grew. The coalition’s proposed agenda, which will be introduced Thursday morning, includes budget consolidation and social reforms, aiming to balance conservative and progressive policies. This story is being updated.

Austrian far-right leader Herbert Kickl is giving up his chance to form a new coalition government in Vienna after negotiations with the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) broke down.  Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader Kickl informed Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen of his decision in a letter, saying that although his party met the ÖVP halfway on many points during talks, “To our regret, the negotiations were ultimately unsuccessful.” The FPÖ won the most votes in the September Austrian election and has been in discussions with the ÖVP since January — but were unable to reach an agreement on sharing Cabinet posts.  In his latest offer to the ÖVP Wednesday, Kickl offered it more ministries than his own party would get, though insisting on the key posts of interior and finance. In its counteroffer, the ÖVP wanted to keep the finance and interior ministries, but offered the FPÖ the asylum and migration portfolios — an offer Kickl subsequently rejected. Van der Bellen could now appoint a technocratic government — or Austria could be poised for a new election. Another possibility remains: that the ÖVP resume coalition talks (which first broke down in early January) with the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the liberal NEOS party — all three have signaled their willingness to again speak with the ÖVP, according to public broadcaster ORF.

MADRID — Europe’s far-right leaders huddled in Madrid on Saturday as a show of force following Donald Trump’s reelection. Boasting about a new era of conservative governments in Europe under the motto “Make Europe Great Again,” the Patriots for Europe party, the third-largest EU political family, held its first rally since its inception after last summer’s EU election. On the menu? Scrapping green policy, battling Islam, taking down Brussels EU governance, migration, opposing gender and family diversity, and fighting “population replacement.” “Our friend Trump, the Trump tornado, has changed the world in just a couple of weeks. An era has ended. Today, everyone sees that we are the future,” crowed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the most senior of the leaders at the really in the Spanish capital. “We’re facing a global tipping point,” said France’s Marine Le Pen, while celebrating that, since Trump’s inauguration, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “has all but disappeared from the screens.” The guests, mostly Vox’s most loyal supporters and political muscle from across Spain, descended on Madrid Airport’s Marriott Conference Center to fill a 2,000-seat auditorium, armed their Dior scarfs and Barbour jackets. They came to listen to leaders including Orbán, Le Pen, the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders, Italy’s Matteo Salvini, Czechia’s Andrej Babiš and Austria’s Herbert Kickl, who joined via video link as he finalizes negotiations in Vienna to become Austria’s new chancellor. One after the other, the leaders vowed to “reconquer” Europe’s governments from Socialist, liberal and center-right forces — building an explicit parallel to Spain’s “Reconquista,” when Christian kingdoms reconquered the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rulers in the Middle Ages. Following his landslide victory in Austria, Kickl argued that “people everywhere are rising against the impositions of the EU centralists and left-wing ideologies,” and promised a new model of European cooperation based on national sovereignty. GREEN DEAL AND IMMIGRATION The leaders agreed the EU and the European Commission president are the source of Europe’s social and economic malaise. “The Green Deal is dead,” said Czechia’s Babiš, former prime minister and leader of ANO, currently topping the polls. “Brussels is leading us down a road that brings us to [economic] blackout and economic collapse,” he added. “Energy policy is a fiasco, dragging our economies down. … Industrialists are openly rebelling against absurd and suicidal dictates,” said Le Pen. The European migration pact also was in the spotlight, with all leaders at the rally blaming Brussels for incoming migrants. “People have had enough of illegal immigration. And I ask you, do you have enough of crime in Spain? Do you have a lot of Islamic immigration in Spain? Do you have enough of woke insanity?” asked Dutch far-right leader Wilders, whose PVV party has been in government since May last year. “Yes!” cheered the crowd as they repeated “Viva España.” “You were the first who rolled back Islam and restored the rich heritage of Christianity in your country,” Wilders said. “That’s why we are great admirers of Spain.” All the leaders at the rally also echoed a rejection of gender and sexual diversity, including repeated celebrations of Trump’s two-gender only policy.  “We will defend Christianity and traditional values. … We will defend traditional and normal family: mother, father and many children,” said Krzysztof Bosak, leader of Poland’s Konfederacja. LOOKING FOR ALLIES But the Patriots for Europe are well aware they will not get far in Brussels’ democratic structures without other allies, as they currently are the third force in the European Parliament with 86 seats, and, for now, only hold one head of government out of 27. Le Pen argued that, despite Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni belonging to another political party, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), “there are a number of issues we can all agree on.” “And the issue of the day is: Are we or are we not going to stop with this Green Deal nonsense?” Le Pen said, arguing that the ECR will team up with them, but also with certain members of the center-right European People’s Party (EPP). The EPP, the biggest European party holding the most leadership positions, has been flirting with the groups to its right, having voted alongside the Patriots to water down the EU’s deforestation regulation. However, they have for now stuck to their alliance with Socialists and Democrats and liberals. “You must finally choose,” said Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini: “We ask you for the vision and courage to stop collaborating with the socialists and the left in Brussels. … The EPP must choose between a disastrous past and a future of change.” At the same time, leader of Spain’s Vox party and the president of the Patriots, Santiago Abascal, said: “We have to reach out permanently to our allies in Europe,” wishing Alternative for Germany’s Alice Weidel, from the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group, success in the upcoming German election. “We have to know how to put aside our differences and live with them without that impeding constant cooperation in the face of common enemies,” Abascal said. Prior to the rally, leaders on Friday met behind closed doors followed by a gala dinner with special guest Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, a leading U.S. Republican-linked conservative think tank.

BERLIN — Sebastian Kurz couldn’t resist the urge to say: told you so. The former Austrian chancellor told German tabloid Bild in comments published Friday morning that former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-border policies were a direct catalyst for the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is polling in second place ahead of Feb. 23’s national election. “Without the migration policies since 2015, the AfD wouldn’t be anywhere near this strong,” Kurz said, arguing that ignoring voter concerns has only driven them toward the fringes. His comments come as Merkel, who led Germany between 2005 and 2021, re-enters the political fray. In a rare intervention, Merkel criticized Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz for breaking the party’s long-standing firewall against the AfD by allowing far-right votes to help pass an anti-immigration motion in the Bundestag.  The nonbinding motion called for the rejection of all illegal migrants at Germany’s borders and, for the first time, the CDU relied on AfD support to push it through by a narrow margin. The move shattered Merkel’s long-held “firewall” principle and she delivered a sharp rebuke, calling it a fundamental mistake. Kurz, who led the conservative Austrian People’s Party, dismissed concerns that Merz’s strategy aligns with the far right, saying politicians should lead based on principle, not on who supports their policies. “Fear of agreeing with the AfD is no excuse for doing the wrong thing,” he said. Kurz was once hailed as the Wunderkind of Austrian politics, rising to become the world’s youngest leader at just 31 and reshaping the country’s conservative party in his image. However, his meteoric career unraveled in 2021 when a corruption scandal involving alleged misuse of public funds to manipulate media coverage forced him to resign, ending his political dominance. Meanwhile, Germany’s left-leaning parties are drawing parallels between Merz’s rightward shift and Austria’s political transformation, where the far-right FPÖ is on track to lead the government.  Green Party leader Robert Habeck has warned that Germany could be following Austria’s path, calling it a test for the country’s democratic stability . “If it can happen in Austria, it can happen in Germany,” Habeck said, urging voters to reject what he described as a dangerous normalization of far-right politics.

BERLIN — German Green Party chancellor candidate and Economy Minister Robert Habeck issued a stark warning on Sunday that Germany could face a far-right political takeover akin to Austria’s current trajectory.  “If it can happen in Austria, it can also happen in Germany,” Habeck said at the Green Party convention in Berlin. “And the decision whether it will happen is now up for election.” Habeck pointed to the rise of Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), now forging a coalition government, as a cautionary tale for Germany’s own political landscape.  The FPÖ, a party with deep nationalist roots, is leading negotiations to form a coalition with the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) after centrist forces failed to form a government. For Habeck, the parallels to Germany are clear: In both countries, far-right parties have surged in popularity amid migration debates and public safety concerns. The warning comes as Germany grapples with the fallout from a recent knife attack by an Afghan refugee, which left two people dead, including a two-year-old child. The incident has intensified calls for stricter migration controls, a policy platform being championed by Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz, who is leading the polls at around 30 percent. In response to the tragedy, Merz proposed closing Germany’s borders to all illegal entries, including asylum seekers — a position that could draw support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Merz’s remarks, which included a call to act “regardless of who agrees with our proposals,” have fueled speculation that the CDU is willing to risk breaking the taboo of working with the AfD in the pursuit of tougher migration laws. The AfD, polling at around 20 percent and holding its own conference in the eastern city of Halle over the weekend, celebrated the potential collapse of Germany’s political firewall, the so-called Brandmauer, that mainstream parties have upheld for years to isolate the far right.  Habeck directly criticized Merz for considering the AfD’s backing to pass migration laws in the Bundestag. “Nothing about this is harmless,” Habeck warned. “It should not be dismissed as a strategic mistake.” He urged Merz to reconsider, warning that such moves erode democratic norms: “Forgetting history leads to completely, completely wrong results in Europe.” For Habeck, the situation in Austria as well as developments in Germany highlight what can happen when mainstream parties fail to stand together against nationalist forces. “Austria is very close to us in culture and political tradition,” Habeck said. “In Austria, it has not been possible for a coalition of conservative Social Democrats and a progressive, liberal party to form a government, although they knew that a right-wing extremist party could then take over the government.” Framing the upcoming Feb. 23 federal election as a referendum on Germany’s political future, Habeck warned that the stakes go beyond migration policy. “This federal election has suddenly turned into a true election of alternatives,” he said. “It asks the fundamental questions: Will Germany, will Europe, rise to the challenges we face, and how?” Habeck tied the fight against far-right populism to broader struggles for democracy and climate action, calling on voters to reject what he described as a dangerous slide toward authoritarianism.