Austria: Radicals should be eliminated, says interior minister

Austria: Radicals should be eliminated, says interior minister

Austrian Interior Minister Maria Fekter recently said that radical Muslims should be eliminated. "We should strengthen the moderates in order to keep the fundamentalists, who are gaining ground, in check, and eliminate [them] from Austria," she said according to Rundschau am Sonntag.

Fekter also said that foreigners were the major cause of crime in the country, and that the way to fight youth crime is to cancel the benefits to the families of young criminals.

The Greens responded that 'eliminating' is a mafia method. Fekter should have concrete suspicions against specific people before stepping in. If that's not the case, she should leave the Austrian population 'with her irresponsible scaremongering' in peace. Fekter's words exceeded any acceptable limit, according to the Greens.

The Freedom Party (FPÖ) accused Fekter of being strict only in her rhetoric, and that the government policies have not changed. They accuse Fekter's party, the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), of wanting cheap labor and opening the door in Austria among others also to radicals.

The Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) accused Fekter as well of talking and not doing. The party wants asylum applications to be decided with 48 hours at the most and not have the process dragging on for months and years.

Source: Der Standard (German)