Lugner case: SPÖ calls on Kickl to take action

The SPÖ is demanding that Herbert Kickl stop remaining silent over the investigation into Vienna city councillor Leo Lugner for suspected Nazi re-engagement. “Silence and keeping one’s head down is not an option,” SPÖ federal managing director Klaus Seltenheim said in a statement.

Seltenheim also called for Lugner to resign, saying Kickl must finally “clean up the mess in the FPÖ.” He argued that someone who accepts a diversion in proceedings over suspected Nazi re-engagement appears to hold beliefs suited to the Nazi era, but not to Austrian domestic politics in 2026. Seltenheim declared Lugner “finally ripe for resignation.”

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Silence and keeping one’s head down is not an option.

Lugner responded in a social-media post, saying he had made “thoughtless statements” in a private chat. “I would certainly not repeat such statements today. They should never have been made, not even in a private chat,” he wrote. He also promised to carry out the community service agreed under the diversion procedure.

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Kickl must finally clean up the mess in the FPÖ.

According to Der Standard, Lugner filed legal remedies against the investigation, delaying the proceedings. During that period, the former coalition government amended Austria’s Prohibition Act, making diversion possible in such cases.

A separate case involving Lugner’s Facebook page is also before the courts. Publicist Sebastian Bohrn Mena said that messages posted by users in response to a Lugner comment described him and his wife, Veronika, as “criminal and beggar gangs.” Bohrn Mena said the FPÖ must pay €30,000 in penalties or costs because the incriminated texts were not removed despite a court order. The party, which operates the page, argued that an external IT service provider had failed to carry out the order.

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I would certainly not repeat such statements today. They should never have been made, not even in a private chat.