Nazi defender defiant

The week's news at a glance.

Vienna

An Austrian legislator has reneged on his promise to resign after expressing sympathy for the Nazis. In a speech last month, Siegfried Kampl said that Austrian Nazis had been “brutally persecuted” after the war even though they had little choice but to join the party after Germany annexed Austria. Those who deserted the Nazis out of principle, he said, had as good as killed their own countrymen. Even Kampl’s own party, the far-right Alliance for Austria’s Future, demanded that he apologize, and initially he agreed to resign. But this week, he said he would take up the rotating presidency of the upper house, which is scheduled to fall to him in July. Other parties have threatened a walkout. “We cannot tolerate somebody like this as president of the Bundesrat,” said Alexander Van der Bellen of the Green Party.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us