Austrian far-right leader concedes plan for refugee island 'went too far'

Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer could be seeking to soften his image ahead of election

An election campaign poster of presidential candidate Norbert Hofer from the Freedom Party of Austria seen in Vienna (AFP/Getty Images)

The far-right candidate in Austria's presidential election has backtracked on a plan to confine asylum seekers to islands.

Norbert Hofer told a German magazine he had changed his mind about the proposal made by Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz to send refugees to designated islands off mainland Europe while their asylum applications were processed.

Mr Kurz is believed to have copied the plan from Mr Hofer's Freedom Party after seeing how popular the far-right politician had become, but Mr Hofer now says the idea went “too far” and was “excessive, to put it diplomatically”.

Mr Kurz responded by framing the issue as a matter of either stopping refugees from leaving islands like Lesbos in Greece, where they often arrive from outside the EU, or letting them travel on into mainland Europe.

A spokesman for the politician told local media: “If you are honest about the issue, then you have to openly address the current situation in Italy.

"The migrants come to the hotspots on the islands and from there are carried to the mainland rather than being stopped and transported back."

Mr Kurz’s spokesman challenged Mr Hofer to admit his policy reversal actually amounted to "waving on" refugees, into the mainland.

Imprisoning refugees on islands is a popular policy among far-right politicians, with Mr Hofer's German and Dutch equivalents sticking by similar proposals.

The plans are inspired by Australia, which confines migrants to offshore facilities such as those on Nauru and Papua New Guinea, both independent foreign territories.

Human rights groups have criticised the practice as inhumane and a breach of international law. Several detainees in Nauru have attempted suicide by setting themselves on fire.

Austrian media speculated Mr Hofer had backed away from his initial policy in order to soften his image in the run-up to the presidential elections.

However he said in the same interview that he is still in favour of returning migrants who are rescued in the Mediterranean to their country of origin.

He also criticised the EU deal with Turkey and said Turkish citizens must not be allowed visa-free travel within the EU as this would let too many Syrians in.

The result of the Austrian presidential election on 1 July was overturned by the country's Supreme Court after an investigation revealed irregularities in the vote count in several constituencies.

Green Party-backed independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen narrowly beat Mr Hofer in the nullified election.

The two politicians will face each other again in a revote on 2 October.