Austria’s lower house of parliament, the National Council, voted Wednesday to lift the parliamentary immunity of Herbert Kickl, leader of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and chairman of its parliamentary group. This decision clears the way for investigations into allegations of perjury against him.

A majority in the National Council voted in favor of the decision following a request by the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA), which sought to prosecute Kickl for allegedly providing false testimony during a parliamentary committee investigation into the misuse of public funds. However, Christian Ragger, a representative of the FPÖ, contested the parliament’s decision, claiming it was politically motivated. He argued that at the time Kickl provided his testimony, he was serving as a member of parliament rather than in his former role at the Ministry of Interior, which should have afforded him the protection of parliamentary immunity.

In response, Chritoph Zarits, a member of the Parliament’s Immunity Committee, clarified that immunity protection does not apply in this case. He explained that the inquiry committee questioned Herbert Kickl not about his role as a member of parliament but regarding his tenure as Interior Minister. Additionally, the National Council lifted the immunity of three other FPÖ members accused of violating the Nazi Prohibition Law by singing a Nazi song during a funeral. The relevant legislation, including the Prohibition Act and the Badge Act, bans the public display or promotion of Nazi symbols or ideology.

Parliamentary immunity ensures that Members of the National Council cannot be held liable for their voting decisions and can only be held accountable to the Council itself for any oral or written statements made within its proceedings. However, Article 57(3) of the Federal Constitutional Law stipulates that criminal proceedings against a member of the National Council may only proceed without the Council’s consent if the actions in question are unequivocally unrelated to their political activities.

The public prosecutor is investigating allegations that Herbert Kickl provided false testimony during questioning by an investigative committee in April. The committee was probing suspicions of abuse of power by Kickl during his tenure as Minister of Interior from 2017 to 2019, following claims that he used public funds to pay for advertisements in exchange for favorable media coverage. Kickl told the committee he had no involvement with advertisements at the time. However, smartphone chats have surfaced showing discussions among FPÖ officials, including Kickl, about media strategies. These revelations have prompted the WKStA to accuse the FPÖ leader of making false statements.

Kickl is no stranger to controversy. The FPÖ won Austria’s parliamentary elections in September 2024 but fell short of securing a majority, as other parties refused to collaborate with them. Herbert Kickl, the party’s leader, served as Minister of Interior for two years before assuming the role of chairman in parliament. The accusations against him are reminiscent of those faced by former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who in February was handed an eight-month suspended prison sentence for giving false testimony during a parliamentary committee hearing.