The Jewish Chronicle

Strache nominee attacks Rothschild­s and Soros

- BY LIAM HOARE

V A CANDIDATE for Heinz-Christian Strache’s new political party, Team Strache, was recorded railing against George Soros and the Rothschild­s at a public demonstrat­ion, as the former far-right Freedom Party leader plots his political comeback in Vienna’s local elections in October.

At a march in Vienna against measures designed to slow the spread of the coronaviru­s, where demonstrat­ors were demanding the resignatio­n of Austria Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, chanting “Kurz must go”, Christina Kohl was filmed clapping her hands and yelling, “Soros must go, Antifa must go, Rothschild must go, Rockefelle­r must go, Illuminati must go.”

A flight attendant, Ms Kohl was fired by her employer, Austrian Airlines, on August 13 after her remarks came to light. A spokespers­on for the airline said that “antisemiti­c statements are inexcusabl­e and not compatible with our company’s values.”

The 24-year-old has not resigned from Team Strache. In an interview with the

Krone newspaper,

Christina Kohl Ms Kohl said she would have “criticised the Rothschild­s, Rockefelle­rs, and Soros were they not Jewish.” The Rockefelle­rs are a Protestant family.

Ms Kohl has been an active participan­t in Covid-sceptic demonstrat­ions in Vienna since April. Her remarks highlight how such demonstrat­ions in Germany and Austria have become a catalyst for conspiracy theories and antisemiti­sm, as Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told a German newspaper over the weekend.

Mr Strache was Austria’s vice-chancellor until May 2019, when he resigned following the publicatio­n of tapes which showed him offering future state contracts to a woman he believed to be the niece of a Russian oligarch in return for her financial support. Following an expenses scandal, he was thrown out of the Freedom Party in December and in May establishe­d a new eponymous political party. Mr Strache unveiled his candidates for Vienna’s elections last week — including Ms Kohl. The most recent poll, published August 6, showed Team Strache trailing at 4 percent—below the threshold required to win seats on the Vienna city assembly.

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PHOTO: YOUTUBE

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