Austria and Russia

‘The Third Man’ Revisited: Security Intelligence and the Far-Right in Austria

Tessa Szyszkowitz

The far-right Freedom Party controls all security ministries in Austria’s new coalition. Should European partners be worried about security leaks to Russia?

n 19 December 2016 the The takeover of the security Kurz felt the need to clarify the leader of Austria’s far- ministries in Vienna by the FPÖ has matter when he suggested that the right Freedom Party (FPÖ) caused irritation in other European danger of leaking sensitive material to Heinz-Christian Strache capitals. Austria’s partners in the EU have Russia was limited. ‘In the long run there Oposted a selfie with senior members various concerns. German Chancellor will only be peace in Europe with Russia of his party in front of the Russian Angela Merkel seems worried about the and not against Russia’, he said rather White House in Moscow. With big foreign policy implications of the FPÖ cryptically after the meeting with Merkel: smiles on all four faces, the men were now holding the keys to all classified ‘But that does not mean that data will clearly happy to be there. On this trip information shared between European be transmitted illegally’. His office also to Russia, Strache signed an agreement security services and their transatlantic stated that the security services report on cooperation with Sergey Zheleznyak, partner, the CIA. to Kurz and Vice-Chancellor Strache. deputy secretary of the General Council Control was therefore guaranteed. of Yedinaya Rossiya, the Russian It is not entirely clear if this political party closest to President Not only has the FPÖ statement will calm the nerves of Vladimir Putin. Zheleznyak later issued Austria’s European partners. Officially, a statement: ‘We need to reinforce the entertained a pro-Russian Strache and his team have toned down links between our parties and countries, stance, Austria in general their radical positions somewhat in order including in the field of international has been one of those EU to be accepted as a coalition partner. security’. But old habits die slowly. When Just fifteen months later, Strache countries open to ending asked about Kosovo by a Serbian has risen to the post of vice-chancellor the sanctions against newspaper in February, Strache of Austria. The man next to him in Russia sooner rather than responded: ‘Kosovo is undoubtedly the Moscow selfie, Norbert Hofer, part of Serbia’. This statement was a has become minister of transport, later direct contradiction to Austria’s official innovation and technology. The position, having recognised Kosovo as FPÖ, in coalition with the Austrian an independent republic in 2008. With People’s Party (ÖVP) under Chancellor When Merkel received Kurz for this statement, the vice-chancellor of Sebastian Kurz, also controls the a visit in Berlin in January, she is said Austria seemed to be more in line with ministries of interior, defence and to have discussed her concerns with the pro-Serbian position of the Russian foreign affairs. the Austrian chancellor. According Federation. Might the new far-right ministers be to a report in Frankfurter Allgemeine Not only has the FPÖ entertained tempted to share sensitive information Zeitung, Merkel flagged the possibility a pro-Russian stance, Austria in general in the field of international security, as that the FPÖ might transmit has, for historical and economic reasons, Zheleznyak had hoped for less than a sensitive information to Moscow. been one of those EU countries open year and a half ago? In his book Russia This information could help Russian to ending the sanctions against Russia and the Western Far Right, Ukrainian security services trace intelligence back sooner rather than later. Strache, after political scientist Anton Shekhovtsov to sources close to Western security all, has been a strong supporter of writes: ‘It is not clear what forms services in Europe, thus endangering ending EU sanctions against Russia. cooperation between Yedinaya Rossiya informants. She supposedly added FPÖ member Johann Gudenus visited and the FPÖ will take, but the signing that Vienna should be prepared for Crimea in 2014 as an observer during of the above-mentioned agreement is Western security services to not share an independence referendum that has so far the most important stage of the information with Austria with as much been condemned internationally as a relations between the FPÖ and Russian freedom as before, although Merkel’s cover-up for Russia’s occupation of the actors’. spokesman later denied this report. region. This is also the view of Thomas

March 2018, Vol. 38, No. 2 1 RUSI Newsbrief Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a joint press conference in Moscow, 28 February 2018.Courtesy of the Office of the President of Russia.

Riegler, an Austrian historian and expert Institute, showed what Vienna was at information Austrian security services on security services and terrorism, who the end of the Second World War: a receive from other European security stated in an interview with the author playground for Eastern and Western services, like MI6. that: ‘Austria has been viewed for years security services. As the capital of Leaks of this kind have become as friendly towards the Kremlin’. politically neutral Austria, Vienna more likely since the Austrian Home On matters of security cooperation, was always interesting for the security Office has recently become embroiled Riegler thinks Vienna will retain its services on all sides. Some things never in turmoil. As irony would have it, the importance for spy agencies worldwide, seem to change. ‘When geopolitical new Austrian security ministers are now due to its playing host to the headquarters tensions between the East and the in control of the services that used to of many international organisations, West rise, it will be felt in Vienna’, says keep a close eye on them. Considering such as the UN, OPEC and the OSCE. Riegler. Austria’s history vis-à-vis the Third Riegler also stresses that Russia has What kind of sensitive information Reich, the republic has had a law against already had a rather strong presence in could FPÖ ministers share with Moscow neo-Nazi activity, called Verbotsgesetz, Vienna since the 1980s, described as a that Russia does not already have? As since 1945. Holocaust denial, as well kind of ‘city in the city’. According to Austria is not a member of NATO, as deliberate belittlement of Nazi the 2000 annual report of the Federal Turkey might be a better country to atrocities, is prohibited. As some of Office for the Protection of the turn to if Russia wanted information the leading members of the FPÖ have Constitution and Counterterrorism of about NATO developments. Another been close to far-right organisations Austria (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz security expert, who prefers anonymity, in the past, domestic security services und Terrorismusbekämpfung, or BVT), states that military surveillance of have had them on their radar for years. Russia’s foreign intelligence service Austria’s military intelligence service The leader of the FPÖ himself took (Sluzhba vneshney razvedki, or SVR) (Heeresnachrichtendienst) is directed part in a Wehrsportübung in the Austrian ‘prefers to place its agents in cover- against the East, mostly Russia, and forest in his student days. These up posts in the Russian embassy, the therefore ‘it would be pointless to Wehrsportübungen were sportive training general consulate in Salzburg, in trade share any of this material with Russia’. camps organised by the Volkstreue representation, Russian airlines and with Another area of Austrian special außerparlamentarische Opposition (VAPO), various international organisations’. interest and expertise is the Balkans, an Austrian neo-Nazi organisation. What sounds like a scene from The where Russia already has a strong Today, Strache distances himself from Third Man, the famous 1949 post-war presence. Russia therefore might not those extremist years between 1985 film noir, comes close to reality. The be so interested in what Austrian and 1992, although he is still a member film, rated as ‘the best British film of security services collect themselves, but of the far-right fencing fraternity all time’ in 1999 by the British Film might be quite interested in sensitive Vandalia.

March 2018, Vol. 38, No. 2 2 RUSI Newsbrief Austria and Russia

But Strache is by far not the only past years. While German and Austrian by Hungarian journalist Szabolcs Panyi. fencing brother from one of those security services have thus far cooperated Although Austria’s Home Office issued colourful fraternities now sitting in surveying the attendance of their a denial, Panyi stood by his claim, in government. Hofer, himself an respective far-right fringe groups at AfD stating that his source was not Austrian honourable member of a fraternity conferences, this may now become more and that they explicitly said this would called Marko-Germania, placed five complicated. In 2017, Strache attended only be applied in Russia-related cases. members of far-right student unions the Ash Wednesday conference of the At the end of February, a special in his cabinet. He started his term by AfD as an honoured guest speaker. One police unit that usually deals with changing the board of directors of the interest that both the FPÖ and AfD street crime raided the offices of Austrian train company Österreichische share is providing scathing criticism of BVT and seized material that included Bundesbahnen (ÖBB), placing a member the EU, as demonstrated by Strache in information about extreme right of the fencing fraternity Teutonia at its his speech: ‘Germany does not deserve activists. Peter Gridling, head of BVT head. The respected Documentation to be governed partly by a Brussels since 2008, has been suspended from Centre of Austrian Resistance classifies dictatorship’. office by Kickl. It is unclear who will Teutonia as being on the extreme right. How the FPÖ will use its new power succeed him. Before he became defence minister over the security services remains to be Thinking back to Strache’s beaming in January 2018, Mario Kunasek was seen. Its first weeks in government were face in the selfie taken in Moscow from the head of the Freedom Party in the riddled with scandals involving extremist fifteen months ago, Russia analyst province of Styria. Kunasek has been members. The party leadership decided Mark Galeotti might have a point in contact with the far-right activist on 13 February to set up a commission when he writes: ‘The more reciprocal group Die Identitären and the small of experts to investigate the history of intelligence one can provide, the more extreme right party Partei des Volkes. the so-called Third Camp, the reservoir political leverage one extracts in return The German wing of Die Identitären are of Nazis who survived the Second – not least, in the form of warm, fuzzy under the surveillance of intelligence World War to later form the FPÖ. This gestures of public esteem of the sort services, but will Austrian security could lead to clearing the FPÖ’s ranks of treasured by any politician or service services do the same in future? In an extremist members and its bookshelves chief ’. Galeotti takes the example of interview with the daily newspaper of neo-Nazi material. The feeding Estonia to explain how in the internet Der Standard, Kunasek stated: ‘I don’t organisations of the FPÖ, however, age, a small country can still play a big think Die Identitären are endangering have already been explicitly excluded role. democracy. But some of their actions from the commission’s mandate. Werner In this delicate landscape of I find excessive’. At one of these Rosenkranz, leader of the parliamentary security cooperation and political gatherings in 2016 a banner was used FPÖ group, stated at a Vienna press interests, Austria may therefore be that read: ‘Islamisation kills’. The conference: ‘They are private clubs’. quite interesting for Russia. Austria’s problem might not be what endangers Forty percent of FPÖ members of new FPÖ ministers have more to offer democracy, but what is possible within parliament are, however, also members to Moscow than sensitive security data. the democratic framework. of such far-right fraternities. They share common political interests A security service under the Ironically, the new security with the Russian leadership, such as defence ministry umbrella, the Office ministers could allow the use of files the destabilisation of the EU and the for Defence (Abwehramt) has been that their predecessors have collected Balkans, both of which lie at their infiltrating far-right groups in Austria on them for the work of the historian’s doorstep. to protect the army from being commission. But will the new undermined during state compulsory occupants of the security ministries Tessa Szyszkowitz military service. After a meeting of an want this transparency? The new Tessa is a historian, author and extremist group in 2016, two activists Home Secretary Herbert Kickl has sent journalist who has been covering pinned a pig’s head to a mosque in mixed signals in selecting Alexander the UK, Europe, the Middle East Graz. One of those men was an Höferl, who until December 2017 was and Russia for the past 25 years as a informant for the Abwehramt. As with head of the far-right news network correspondent for various publications. other secret services worldwide, it is Unzensuriert.at, as his communication She curates Philoxenia, a lecture series sometimes less than clear who exactly chief. Unzensuriert.at, the Austrian at the Bruno Kreisky Forum for is infiltrating whom. It might become response to Breitbart News in the International Dialogue in Vienna. She even less clear now in Austria, as some US, was previously investigated by the has published several books in German far-right activists have risen to high BVT and found to have ‘anti-semitic on history and collective memory, political positions in security ministries. tendencies … signs of conspiracy Russian and Middle Eastern politics. Merkel is especially concerned theories [and] pro-Russian ideology’. She is currently writing a book about as she faces the rise of the far-right Located in the Austrian Home the UK after Brexit. Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Office, the BVT is precisely the service Germany. The political agenda of this with which British, French and US The views expressed in this article are those of protest movement turned political party security services would like to reduce the author, and do not necessarily reflect those has shifted towards the extreme right in their cooperation, according to a tweet of RUSI or any other institution.

March 2018, Vol. 38, No. 2 3 RUSI Newsbrief