Coalition parties criticize FPÖ for employing convicted Schimanek

Conviction and obituary

Schimanek was sentenced in March of this year at the Krems Regional Court to one year of probationary imprisonment for NS reactivation; the verdict is now final. The sentencing range for the offense would have been one to ten years; Schimanek thus received the minimum sentence, which was also issued as probationary. The indictment related to the obituary for his deceased father Hans-Jörg Schimanek senior, which contained the quote "… und ewig lebt der Toten Tatenruhm" as well as the "Irminsul" symbol common in right-wing extremist circles.

During the trial, Schimanek stated that he had designed the obituary "on behalf of" his father and emphasized that the deceased had not intended to establish any connection to the NS era. The prosecution countered that, given the family background, there were "extraordinarily many coincidences." Following the verdict, Schimanek announced that he would resign his mandate and leave the FPÖ in order to prevent damage to the party.

Stations in the FPÖ orbit

Nevertheless, Schimanek is now employed at the Freedom Education Institute. The FBI is operated by the FPÖ as a political educational institution. Before his work there, Schimanek had been office manager for National Council President Walter Rosenkranz, a position he had given up in 2025 following prior allegations and at his own request. Previously, he had worked as cabinet chief for former FPÖ politician Norbert Hofer.

ÖVP constitutional spokesperson Wolfgang Gerstl spoke of a "numbing silence" from the FPÖ and accused the party of lacking distance from the right-wing extremist milieu. Beyond that, Gerstl expressed the suspicion that Schimanek may have destroyed and taken an art installation against antisemitism; this further aggravated "this alarming overall picture," as he said verbatim.

Greens right-wing extremism spokesperson Lukas Hammer described the circumstance as a possible "political scandal of the first order." "Falls sich bestätigt, dass René Schimanek nach seiner rechtskräftigen Verurteilung wegen nationalsozialistischer Wiederbetätigung nun beim Freiheitlichen Bildungsinstitut beschäftigt ist, wäre das ein politischer Skandal ersten Ranges," Hammer declared. A conviction for NS reactivation is "not an obstacle, but a bonus for this job."

Criticism from ÖVP, SPÖ, and the Greens

The SPÖ also joined the criticism. Federal managing director Klaus Seltenheim accused the FPÖ of failing to draw a line against the far right despite numerous right-wing extremist scandals. It is "telling that the so-called 'education institute' of the FPÖ serves as a catch basin for convicted right-wing extremists," Seltenheim said. The FPÖ is holding on to its connections to right-wing extremism.

The background also includes further investigations in Schimanek's orbit. During a search of a forestry hut in Langenlois, where Schimanek was last officially registered, NS memorabilia was seized; the investigations were discontinued because no owner of the items could be identified. In addition, two sons of Schimanek's brother have been indicted in Dresden since the beginning of the year on suspicion of terrorism in connection with the group "Sächsische Separatisten."

Further investigations and connections

The FPÖ itself commented to the APA only indirectly by referring to the Simhandl statement. A more extensive statement from the party leadership regarding Schimanek's employment at the FBI or the allegations from ÖVP, SPÖ, and the Greens was not initially available.

The case throws a spotlight on the FPÖ's handling of persons convicted of NS reactivation. While Schimanek left his mandate and the party, he retained a further connection to the party through the education institute. The opposition's criticism aims at the fact that, through this employment, the FPÖ is failing to demonstrate distance from the right-wing extremist spectrum.

Whether the FPÖ will respond substantively to the allegations or draw consequences remained initially open. Simhandl merely pointed out that the employment relationship is not affected by the conviction. The political dispute over the personnel matter thus remains for the time being with ÖVP, SPÖ, and the Greens.