Freedom Party FPOe EU election campaign rally in Vienna

The far-right favourites to win Austria's next election have forged an alliance with Hungarian leader Viktor Orban that could deepen defiance of Brussels and threaten already fragile consensus over the Ukraine war if they take power.

Orban, prime minister of Austria's old imperial partner and an ally of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, has often blocked or delayed major European Union decisions such as sanctions against Russia and aid for Ukraine, wringing concessions from the bloc in the process.

While other hardline nationalists now heading European governments have taken a more moderate path, Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) leader Herbert Kickl has aligned his party closely with Orban, the self-styled champion of "illiberal democracy".

"We're entering what I would like to call a new era in European politics," Kickl said with Orban announcing their European alliance in June in a Vienna hotel alongside Andrej Babis, head of the biggest party in the Czech Republic's lower house, and a former prime minister of that country.

Other parties including Marine Le Pen's National Rally in France joined that alliance within days, making it the third-biggest political group in the European Parliament.

An FPO-led government would exacerbate difficulties Europe has staying united to supply weapons and aid to Kyiv and opposing gambits like Orban's trip to Moscow last month, which upset EU officials.

Kickl, who has called European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen a "warmonger", said last month he and Orban backed a "peaceful solution to the war between Ukraine and Russia" and pointed to Pope Francis' remark that Kyiv should have the "courage of the white flag" to negotiate peace.

The Vatican later said that Russia halting its aggression should be a precondition for any negotiations.

But pressure on Ukraine to come to terms with Russia is also emanating from Slovakia, which like the Czech Republic was also once part of the Austro-Hungarian empire that dominated central Europe before the First World War.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico pursues friendly ties with Moscow, has ended military aid for Ukraine and opposes Kyiv joining NATO. However, he has not joined the alliance forged by Kickl and Orban, who Austria's far-right has long been courting.

Originating on the political left, Fico has said his party will stay out of the main centre-left group in the European Parliament after its suspension in October for forming a coalition with a far-right party in Slovakia.

Neutral Austria does not send arms to Ukraine, and lingering business ties between one of its biggest banks and Russia have alarmed Washington. It still imports most of its natural gas from Russia despite efforts to kick that habit.

The EU has agreed 14 rounds of sanctions since Russia's invasion, and in February passed a 50 billion euro ($54 billion) aid package for Ukraine until 2027.

The frequent threat of a Hungarian veto has forced the 27-member bloc to get creative and resort to unorthodox tactics.

At a December summit, Orban was asked to leave the room so EU leaders could agree to open membership talks with Kyiv.

"I do think it will be increasingly difficult to adopt further sanctions," said Paul Schmidt, head of think-tank the Austrian Society for European Politics. "If there's an FPO government, then it won't just be Orban alone. And then Austria will be one of the potential countries to veto."

BRISTLING AT BRUSSELS

Like European peers, the FPO combines tough rhetoric on immigration and Islam with promises to reduce what it regards as interference from Brussels in national affairs.

Top party officials declined or did not respond to interview requests for this article. "As an Austrian party, we focus exclusively on domestic media and agencies in our communications work," an FPO spokesperson said.

Hungary's government did not respond to a request for comment. A European Council spokesperson said it would not speculate on the election's outcome but would work with whomever Austria elected. The Commission declined to comment.

Like Orban, who says Trump plans to quickly negotiate peace in Ukraine if he is re-elected in November, the FPO criticises EU support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.

Polls have long shown the FPO in first place ahead of Chancellor Karl Nehammer's conservative People's Party (OVP). But even if it wins September's general election it faces serious obstacles to leading government for the first time.

Currently polling around 27%, the FPO would need a coalition partner to govern. Its only realistic option is the OVP, but Nehammer has ruled out working with Kickl - though not the FPO.

President Alexander Van der Bellen, an ex-leader of Austria's Greens eager to uphold EU unity on Ukraine, has hinted he might withhold his consent to Kickl becoming chancellor.

Kickl's adversaries accuse the FPO, which in 2016 signed a cooperation agreement with President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, of doing Moscow's bidding.

The FPO says it is the only party serious about Austrian neutrality, enshrined in the constitution, which it uses to attack policies targeting Russia, such as a planned missile defence system that would stretch from Britain to Turkey.

Many Austrians hold the view that not provoking major powers like Russia keeps them safe, and polls show a clear majority of voters want the country to stay neutral.

Kickl is therefore generally careful to argue his Ukraine policy is about threats to Austrian neutrality, rather than directly praising Putin, said political analyst Thomas Hofer.

"The explanation is a strongly domestic one."

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Trump: UAW leader Fain a ‘stupid person’

Former President Trump called United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain a “stupid person” on Sunday, deepening a divide between his camp and the union while promising to revitalize the industry if reelected.

Trump said in a Fox News interview with Maria Bartiromo first aired on “Sunday Morning Futures” that the auto industry will be a top priority for his potential second term, referring to his controversial policy to enact harsh tariffs on imported cars.

“We’re going to take in a fortune, but we’re going to tariff those jobs. We want them to build auto plants in the United States,” Trump said. “Those people in Michigan that love me and that I love, and then they’re going to give us a victory because their auto industry won’t exist in two years if [Vice President Harris] gets elected.”

“They’ve got to build in the United States, and they have to hire U.S. workers and whether it’s union or nonunion,” he continued. “Look, the United Auto Workers I know very well, they vote for me. They have a stupid person leading them, but they vote for me. They’re going to love Donald Trump more than ever before.”

“We’re going to create in that area, the most traditional area, we’re going to have more auto jobs that we’ve ever had,” he added. “We’re bringing back the automobile industry, and we’re going to do that with tariffs.”

The UAW, led by Fain, endorsed Vice President Harris last week after previously endorsing President Biden. Trump has feuded with Fain for months, with the union leader denouncing Trump as one of the worst presidents for union workers.

“Trump has never supported working class people. He has never supported unions,” Fain said Friday. “But he sure as hell was trying to pander for our votes now.”

Trump has previously called on UAW members to rise up against Fain and have him removed from his post. The popular union president won a landmark contract with major automakers for UAW members last year.

In a post online, the union said Trump is “a scab and a billionaire,” saying they are not on his side.

Economists have warned that Trump’s plan to radically cut taxes and implement tariffs could significantly increase product costs for the average American and increase the national debt. An economic analysis earlier this year found that the proposal would cost the average household $1,500 per year.

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Russell Vought, a Project 2025 architect, is ready to shock Washington if Trump wins second term

 Russell Vought sounds like a general marshaling troops for combat when he talks about taming a “woke and weaponized” federal government.

He recently described political opposition as “enemy fire that’s coming over the target,” while urging allies to be “fearless at the point of attack” and calling his policy proposals “battle plans.”

If former President Donald Trump wins a second term in November, Vought may get the opportunity to go on the offensive.

A chief architect of Project 2025 — the controversial conservative blueprint to remake the federal government — Vought is likely to be appointed to a high-ranking post in a second Trump administration. And he’s been drafting a so-far secret “180-Day Transition Playbook” to speed the plan’s implementation to avoid a repeat of the chaotic start that dogged Trump’s first term.

Among the small cadre of Trump advisers who has a mechanic’s understanding of how Washington operates, Vought has advised influential conservative lawmakers on Capitol Hill, held a top post in the Trump White House and later established his own pro-Trump think tank. Now, he’s being mentioned as a candidate to be Trump’s White House chief of staff, one of the most powerful positions in government.

“If we don’t have courage, then we will step away from the battle,” Vought said in June on former Trump aide Steve Bannon’s ‘War Room’ podcast. “But our view is that’s where the country needs us, and we’re not going to save our country without a little confrontation.”

Conservative blueprint to change the government

Led by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, Project 2025 is a detailed 920-page handbook for governing under the next Republican administration. A whirlwind of hard-right ambitions, its proposals range from ousting thousands of civil servants and replacing them with Trump loyalists to reversing the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of medications used in abortions. Democrats for months have been using Project 2025 to hammer Trump and other Republicans, arguing to voters that it represents the former president’s true — and extreme — agenda.

Trump in recent weeks has sought to distance himself from Project 2025. He posted on social media he has not seen the plan and has “no idea who is in charge of it, and, unlike our very well received Republican Platform, had nothing to do with it.”

His campaign said Tuesday that Project 2025’s “demise would be greatly welcomed.” That same day, Paul Dans, the project’s executive director and a former Trump administration personnel official, stepped down.

Trump’s attempts to reject the blueprint are complicated by the connections he has with many of its contributors. More than two dozen authors served in his administration, including Vought, who was director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.

The Trump campaign did not respond to questions about which Project 2025 proposals the former president opposes or whether Vought would be offered a high-level government position in a new Trump term.

Vought did not respond to an interview request or to questions first emailed in February to his think tank, the Center for Renewing America, which played a key role in creating Project 2025.

Those who know Vought described him as fiercely dedicated to Trump’s cause, if not to the former president himself.

“A very determined warrior is how I would see Russ,” said a former Trump administration official who worked with Vought in the White House and requested anonymity to speak candidly about him. “I don’t think he thinks about whether or not he likes Donald Trump as a person. I think he likes what Donald Trump represents in terms of the political forces he’s able to harness.”

Washington insider

Born in New York and raised in Connecticut, Vought has described his family as blue collar. His parents were devout Christians. Vought’s father, a Marine Corps veteran, was a union electrician and his mother was a schoolteacher.

Vought’s father, nicknamed Turk, didn’t stand for idleness or waste. Mark Maliszewski, an electrician who knew him, recalled that after a job Turk Vought would scold his co-workers if they tossed out still usable material.

“He’d go over and kick the garbage can,” Maliszewski said. “He’d say: ‘What is this? If those were quarters or dollars in that garbage can, you’d be picking them up.’”

Russell Vought graduated in 1998 from Wheaton College, a Christian school in Illinois that counts the famed evangelist Billy Graham among its alumni. He moved to Washington to work for Republicans who championed fiscal austerity and small government.

“I worked with a lot of different staff people and as far as work ethic, tenacity, intellect, knowledge (and) commitment to principle, Russell was one of the more impressive people I worked with,” said former GOP Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, who hired Vought in 2003.

After honing his credentials as a fiscal hawk, Vought was named policy director of the House Republican Conference, the party’s primary messaging platform chaired at the time by then-Rep. Mike Pence, who went on to serve as Indiana governor and Trump’s vice president.

Vought left Capitol Hill for a lobbying organization attached to the Heritage Foundation. When Trump was elected, Vought became OMB’s deputy director.

His confirmation hearing was contentious. Liberal Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders accused him of using Islamophobic language when he wrote in 2016 that Muslims “do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ his Son, and they stand condemned.”

Vought told senators his remarks were taken out of context and said he respected the right of every person to express their religious beliefs.

The Senate confirmed him to be OMB’s No. 2 by a single vote. He became acting director in early 2019 after his boss, Mick Mulvaney, was named Trump's acting chief of staff. Vought was confirmed as OMB director a year and half later as the COVID-19 pandemic was sweeping the globe.

OMB is a typically sedate office that builds the president’s budget and reviews regulations. But with Vought at the helm, OMB was at the center of showdowns between Trump and Congress over federal spending and the legal bounds of presidential power.

After lawmakers refused to give Trump more money for his southern U.S. border wall, the budget office siphoned billions of dollars from the Pentagon and Treasury Department budgets to pay for it.

Under Vought, OMB also withheld military aid to Ukraine as Trump pressured President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate President Joe Biden and his son. Vought refused to comply with a congressional demand to depose him during the subsequent Democrat-led House investigation that led to Trump’s first impeachment. The inquiry, Vought said, was a sham.

Following Trump's exit from the White House, Vought formed The Center for Renewing America. The organization’s mission is to be “the tip of the America First spear” and “to renew a consensus that America is a nation under God.”

Vought has defended the concept of Christian nationalism, which is a fusion of American and Christian values, symbols and identity. Christian nationalism, he wrote three years ago, “is a commitment to an institutional separation between church and state, but not the separation of Christianity from its influence on government and society.”

The only way to return America to the country the Founding Fathers envisioned is “radical constitutionalism,” Vought said on Bannon’s podcast. That means ensuring control of the executive branch rests solely with the president, not a vast federal bureaucracy.

Anticipating the fights to achieve this, Trump’s backers need to be “fearless, faithful and frugal in everything we do,” he said.

A declaration of less independence

Vought’s center was part of a coalition of conservative organizations, organized by the Heritage Foundation, that launched Project 2025 and crafted a detailed plan for governing in the next Republican administration.

The project’s public-facing document, “Mandate for Leadership,” examined nearly every corner of the federal government and urged reforms large and small to bridle a “behemoth” bureaucracy.

Project 2025 calls for the U.S. Education Department to be shuttered, and the Homeland Security Department dismantled, with its various parts absorbed by other federal offices. Diversity, inclusion and equity programs would be gutted. Promotions in the U.S. military to general or admiral would go under a microscope to ensure candidates haven’t prioritized issues like climate change or critical race theory.

The blueprint also recommends reviving a Trump-era personnel policy that seeks to reclassify tens of thousands of federal workers as political appointees, which could enable mass dismissals.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a New York University history professor and author of "Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present,” criticized Project 2025 as “a recipe for mass chaos, abuses of power, and dysfunction in government.”

The overarching theme of Project 2025 is to strip down the “administrative state.” This, according to the blueprint, is the mass of unelected government officials who pursue policy agendas at odds with the president’s plans.

In his public comments and in a Project 2025 chapter he wrote, Vought has said that no executive branch department or agency, including the Justice Department, should operate outside the president’s authority.

“The whole notion of independent agencies is anathema from the standpoint of the Constitution,” Vought said during a recent appearance on the Fox Business Network.

Critics warn this may leave the Justice Department and other investigative agencies vulnerable to a president who might pressure them to punish or probe a political foe. Trump, who has faced four separate prosecutions, has threatened retribution against Biden and other perceived enemies.

Diminishing the Justice Department’s independence would be a “radically bad idea,” said Paul Coggins, past president of the National Association of Former U.S. Attorneys.

“No president deserves to sic the Justice Department on his political enemies, or, frankly, to pull the Justice Department off his political friends,” he said.

It is not clear what job Vought might get in a second Trump administration. He could return as OMB director, the job he held at the end of Trump's presidency, or an even higher-ranking post.

“Russ would make a really, really good (White House) chief of staff,” Mulvaney said.

Whatever the position, Vought is expected to be one of Trump’s top field commanders in his campaign to dominate Washington. 

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