Surprising statement from self-declared candidate for president of Austria: I will return Skanderbeg’s helmet to Kruja

Günther Fehlinger-Jahn, currently chairman of the “Austrian Committee for NATO Enlargement”, has announced his intention to run for Federal President of Austria in the 2028 elections.

In a video posted on social media, filmed at the Vienna Museum, Fehlinger-Jahn pledges that, as future president, he will make it possible to return Skanderbeg’s weapons and helmet to Kruja.

The Austrian economist and activist has for years been publicly engaged in favour of NATO and EU enlargement, particularly in the Western Balkans. He is very active on social media and often makes strong statements about Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Russia, Ukraine, NATO and the EU, which is why his name often appears in Balkan media.

Fehlinger-Jahn has a long history of engagement with Kosovo and Albania. In an interview for Tirana Times in 2012, he said he had first come to Albania in 1998 and had later settled in Albania in 2008, living there for several years.

For Kosovo, meanwhile, he has campaigned publicly for international recognition and integration into NATO and the EU.

In his post on X on 2 October 2026, he wrote: “As President of Austria I pledge to return Skanderbeg’s Helmet and Sword to Kruja Albania to honor King Skenderbeg.”