Austria – Interview with Norbert van Handel, jurist and man of influence in Austria: “We have to create a Union of Central Europe in order to save our identities”, by Ferenc Almássy. Interview conducted early May 2017, in Vienna.
Ferenc Almássy: Thank you for this interview, Baron van Handel. You are said to be a kind of éminence grise behind Norbert Hofer, the Third President of the Austrian Parliament and Vice-President of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), a “man in the shadow” overseeing a big network. Indeed, you helped, for example, to organize the meeting between Mr. Hofer and the Czech President Zeman during the presidential campaign of the FPÖ candidate. What was your real role and what was your place in Mr. Hofer’s campaign?
Norbert van Handel: I am a personal friend of Norbert Hofer and he is a member, like me, of the European Order of Saint George (an Order of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine) which has been growing up to quite a big organization in Central and South-Eastern Europe. Although I am not member of the FPÖ myself – I am completely independent – I think that their values are good. They are Christian, they believe in the family, in property and in the possibility of defending our society and our culture. And they believe in Europe, in a Europe which is a Fatherland of Fatherlands.
We think that Europe should be completely reconstructed. The current foreign policy is bad. Look at the Ukraine. It is more than silly to have sanctions against Russia, and there will be no good results on the long-term.
The second thing is that we need peace in Europe. And the third thing we need to have is a strong defense. Instead, what we have now is an invasion of people from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, which, when it continues, will definitely destroy this Continent. A German deputy of the CDU – her name is Kordula Kovac – said that we have to expect 20 million more Muslims coming to Europe.
And this means that if, let’s say, 10 million of these 20 million build up families, and if you compare it with the 10 million on the Christian side, you have in 10 years 50 million more Muslims, and only 15 million more Christians. Therefore, everybody can foresee that Europe will be Islamic in the next 20-30 years if we continue like this.
This is incredible, but it follows – this is my opinion, although I can’t prove it – the agenda and the specific interests of people like Soros, the Council of Foreign Relations, and the Bilderberg think-tanks. And my feeling is that we are currently quite helpless in fighting against this kind of development on our Continent.
FA: This is a point of view that some might contest, saying it is some kind of conspiracy theory.
Norbert van Handel: I’m not a supporter of conspiracy theories. However, when you look at a man like Soros, his strategy is clear: he first destroys currencies, and then plays the philanthropist doing social investments. This is a very wicked way to act. This man wants to change the world. He wants to create continents with completely mixed populations, and organize the world in several big areas regulated by super-capitalism and managed by very few companies, or actually by a few billionaires in the United States. Allowing this to happen would mean the complete loss of our culture, of our religion, of our traditions, and of everything that has built up our identity during the last 1,000 years.
And I think that we also have to fight against people like Mr. Asselborn who said that Hungary should be kicked out of the EU, or Mr. Timmermans who said that national states must be eliminated and all mankind must be mixed up, and also against certain policies of Mrs. Merkel whose “invitation” caused a catastrophe for this Continent and who made a very dangerous deal with the Turks.
FA: Speaking about Angela Merkel: you wrote an open letter to her… do you think she can win the next elections this year and what would be the consequences? Especially since Mr. Macron in France has been elected, regarding his closeness to Mrs. Merkel.
Norbert van Handel: This is a very difficult question. I think Mrs. Merkel will be reelected. People in Germany seem to have no other choice. On the other hand, Mr. Schultz would be a catastrophe for Europe as well. I think things will be worse in Germany than in France. With the election of Mr. Macron, Mrs. Le Pen’s position will get stronger in the next parliamentary elections in June. And it will be very difficult for Mr. Macron to arrange for the so-called cohabitation. I think there will be major riots, if not a revolution. On our side, however, our task is to create a very strong Central Europe.
FA: And how? Don’t you think Germany is the current master of Central Europe? Many people say Germany is the real puppet master in Central Europe due to her economical ties in the region.
Norbert van Handel: I think that the smaller countries in Central Europe like Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, and Slovenia have to get much closer and need to be able to speak with one voice in Brussels.
This means we should go back to the four big freedoms: goods, people, services and finance. And the European Union’s institutional setup must be much smaller. They have two parliaments, how crazy! One in Brussels, the other one in Strasbourg. The one in Strasbourg is just there to please France, but it is not necessary at all.
#BBD0E0
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Did you like it? 4.5/5 (25)
Why do you think a Union of Central Europe is the best way to preserve identities? 🤔
This sounds like a conspiracy theory… what’s your evidence for these claims about Soros? 🧐
Thank you, Mr. van Handel, for shedding light on these issues. 🙏
Isn’t this idea just another form of nationalism in disguise?
How would this Union of Central Europe differ from the European Union?
I appreciate the perspective, but isn’t Europe already too divided?
Great interview! Very insightful! 👏
How do you propose to overcome Germany’s economic influence in Central Europe?
What do you have against Angela Merkel’s policies? 🤨