VIENNA, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Minister of the Interior Herbert Kickl has come under fire for the comments he made over the rule of law and how it applies to asylum seekers, public broadcaster ORF reported on Friday.
In light of road blocks for a speedy deportation of denied asylum seekers, the minister of the right wing populist Freedom Party Tuesday questioned aspects of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). His remarks of "the law must follow politics, not politics the law" proved to be the main spark for the widespread criticism.
In the following days, many parties and politicians, including coalition partner the conservative People's Party and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, vocalized their disapproval of the comments.
On Thursday, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of the People's Party spoke to his cabinet colleague to give clarity to the matter. He said he told Kickl his opinion, and believed Kickl also understood it.
Kurz said all avenues for deportations would be looked at under the laws set out by the constitution.
In addition, he noted that the constitution, the basic principles of the European Union, and human rights are also to be followed and are a core part of the Austrian government's program.
Without directly naming Kickl, President Van der Bellen wrote on social media that the ECHR has had "constitutional status in Austria for 59 years", and that questioning it would "mean the end of the fundamental consensus" of Austria's post World War II Second Republic.
