Austrian politician resigns after poem which compared migrants with the rats

Austria's currently most discussed poem, a dozen verses long and written on the rim. ”Stadsråttan” (Die Stadtratte) was printed in a newsletter from the local FPÖ-the association and was distributed to all households in the city of Braunau am Inn in upper Austria over the past weekend.

the Text is about the rats who live in the city sewers, and is a furious attack on the failed integration policy and the unwanted migrants, which compared with rats.

’Just as we live down here / must other rats / who come as guests or migrants ... share our way to live / otherwise they must quickly make themselves’, the author writes, Christian Schilcher, which, until now, been a threat in the city and belonged to the right-wing populist and xenophobic party, the FPÖ.

of the metaphor brings an echo from nazi propaganda, comparing the jewish population with rats. The fact that Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn – and that the newsletter was handed out in connection to the nazistledarens birthday – has not softened the criticism.

on Monday asked Schilcher apologize, but had no plans to resign.

I wanted my text would provoke, but not in any way hurt or offend someone, " he said in a statement.

the Mayor defended himself by saying not only have compared them with rats, but also himself and his family. But on Tuesday called his boss, the FPÖ-leader Heinz-Christian Strache, who is also the country's vice chancellor, at a press conference and announced that the Schilcher leave all of their political office with immediate effect and is no longer a member of the party.

It was painted a picture which is not combined with what we stand for, " said Strache in Vienna.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) welcomed the news.

–To viceborgmästaren has now stepped down is the only logical consequence of this abominable poem, " he said in a statement on Tuesday.

will the criticism that the Kurz does not take further action against their regeringskollegor in the FPÖ. The party has during his 1.5 years in the government is shaken by several scandals that gave an echo also outside of Austria's borders.

the DN could in the last week tell me that several foreign secret services reported to have stopped to share information to the country's security service (BVT), which is controlled by the FPÖ, which has close links to Russia. The reason is the fears that they leak information to the Kremlin.

READ MORE: Data: Concern that the Austrian security service leaking information to Russia

Earlier in april revealed the austrian media that high-ranking FPÖ politicians have close ties to the so-called Identitära movement, a högextremt network that is suspected of having received money from the terrorist that killed 50 people in a mosque in New Zealand.

Read more: Austrian extremhögergrupp can be dissolved – received money from the suspect Christchurch-terrorist

Sebastian Kurz means the debacle surrounding the poem that he must deal with yet another scandal – and push a potential crisis in government in the gate.

the Austrian state prosecutors to investigate if the poem could constitute a hate crime.