Following several high-profile murders of women by migrants in recent weeks, Strache denounced mass immigration at a New Year’s gathering of the party in Vienna, Kronen Zeitung reported.
“It would, therefore, be completely wrong to speak here of an increase in violence among Austrians,” Strache told his audience. Those who cheered Austria’s open borders during the migrant crisis in 2015, are responsible, he said.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), has been successful in limiting the wave of foreigners, according to Strache: “Yes, we have stopped this irresponsible, illegal wave of migration to Austria since our government was formed. We protect our borders.”
FPÖ Interior Minister Herbert Kickl, has said that the country has become much safer since he assumed office, as the number of migrants deported from Austria rose by 36 percent.
Leading the local government in Vienna, is the Austrian Social Democrats (SPÖ), but Strache harshly criticised their migrant policies.
“Austria would have been spared a lot if the SPÖ had not opened the borders for everyone to get into our social system,” he said. “It will be good if the SPÖ does not come into government for the next 20 years.”
The European Union is currently planning to attack Austria for indexing child benefits to the cost of living to the country in which they residence, claiming that it “discriminates against EU citizens working in Austria”.Vienna has been given two months to respond to its “letter of formal notice”, the first step towards legal action.
The cost-saving measure will affect at least 132 000 children in a number of countries.
The Associated Press reported that EU Social Affairs Commissioner Marianne Thyssen said that “such a mechanism is not allowed under EU law”.
Thyseen said there “are no second-class children” in the EU.