Zelensky addressed the Parliament and people of Austria via video link on March 30th. In his address, Zelensky expressed gratitude to Austria for the humanitarian aid provided to Ukraine, treatment of Ukrainians, and spoke about demining territories in Ukraine and the formula for peace. He also called on Austria to participate in the post-war recovery of Ukraine.
Deputies from the pro-Russian far-right Freedom Party (FPO) left the session hall during his speech.
A political force announced a few days before this that they would be holding a protest in “one form or another” against Zelensky’s speech.
Parliamentarians were present at the beginning of the Ukrainian President’s speech, but then left, leaving signs with slogans “space for neutrality” and “space for peace” on the tables, as well as party symbols.
The political party claims that FPO is “the only party in parliament that takes Austria’s unchanged neutrality seriously, thus advocating for peace”.
FPO is the third largest party in the lower house of the Austrian parliament. The political party leads in public opinion polls (with 29% voter support), while the Social Democratic and Conservative parties (the latter of which, together with the Greens, form the governing coalition) trail behind with several percentage points less, at 24% support.
Context:
Austria is one of three countries where Zelensky has not yet made any addresses since the start of the full-scale war. Hungary and Bulgaria remain on this list.