FPÖ causes outrage with "Remigration Song" – ÖVP calls it a new low

The term "remigration" has long been a fixture of the FPÖ's program and is now openly used in parliamentary speeches, according to multiple observers. Critics see the song as a "new low" and take issue with its "demonstrative and unbridled joy" as well as a "delight in the exercise of power and contempt for human dignity." Moreover, the song conveys exactly what Identitarian Martin Sellner and other right-wing extremists understand by the term. Herbert Kickl reportedly said on ZiB2: "Wenn jemand glaubt, er kann unsere Werte angreifen, dann können wir auch eine Rechtslage herstellen, dass man solchen Leuten die Staatsbürgerschaft auch wieder entziehen kann."

ÖVP sharpens its tone

Sharp criticism is coming from the ranks of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). ÖVP Secretary General Nico Marchetti picks up on the song and asks: "Wo war die Airbert One, als Kickl Innenminister war?" Marchetti continues that Kickl is focusing on producing AI songs while Interior Minister Gerhard Karner is "konsequent abschiebt." ÖVP caucus leader in the U-Committee, Andreas Hanger, is also stepping up the rhetoric: "Die heutige peinliche Vorstellung der FPÖ-Proponenten Landbauer und Eisenhut richtet sich von selbst." Hanger accuses the Freedom Party of itself launching attacks on the police – for instance, in the U-Committee, where investigators and patrol officers were "stundenlang mit sich wiederholenden Fragen gequält und sekkiert."

Specifically, the criticism is directed at Lower Austrian Deputy Governor Udo Landbauer (FPÖ) and AUF state chairwoman as well as FPÖ MP Irene Eisenhut. Both had called for a "Frontalangriff auf unsere Polizisten" at a press conference on Monday. Hanger counters that the FPÖ would be "gut beraten, keine Angriffe gegen die Polizei zu reiten," pointing to a "kolossal gescheitertes 'Pony-Express'-Experiment" under Kickl as former interior minister.

Connections and accusations

Hanger is also putting the spotlight on Eisenhut's connections. She serves as a released personal representative and National Council member with a "saftigen Doppelbezug – von über 230.000 Euro jährlich – sowie selbst seit sechs Jahren teilweise und seit eineinhalb Jahren vollständig bei vollen Bezügen vom Polizeidienst freigestellt." Eisenhut earns roughly 10,351 euros gross as a National Council member, amounting to at least around 200,000 euros in the lowest case. The FPÖ mandatary fell into the 2025 category for side income between 4,001 and 8,000 euros per month. Hanger describes it as "unglaubwürdig und abgehoben" to style herself as a champion of police officers in this way.

On the substance, the People's Party and other observers are broadening the debate to the term "remigration" itself. The FPÖ defends it "mit einer solchen Inbrunst, dass man mittlerweile die Frage stellen muss, ob wirklich die Identitären zum Vorfeld der FPÖ gehören oder nicht vielmehr die FPÖ zu einer Außenstelle der Identitären verkommt." The Identitarian Movement Austria (IBÖ) regularly uses the term. This makes the FPÖ's attempt to limit remigration to supposedly "nur kriminelle Asylwerber" transparent.

Deportations in comparison

Hanger provides figures on the ratio of deportations under FPÖ and ÖVP interior ministers: Under FPÖ Interior Minister Herbert Kickl, there were 12,600 deportations in 2018, while under ÖVP Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, there were around 14,200 in 2025. The ÖVP's U-Committee caucus leader has announced a press conference for the following day titled "U-Ausschuss – FPÖ produziert Kostenlawine." Hanger's frontal attack on the FPÖ is likely to continue.

Overall, the dispute shows just how polarizing the term "remigration" is in Austrian domestic politics. While the FPÖ is aggressively claiming the term and now wants to turn it into a "summer hit" in pop-cultural form as well, critics see it as a message of contempt for human dignity. The ÖVP accuses the Freedom Party of acting with double standards – criticizing the police on the one hand while styling itself as their defender on the other.