In the Austrian presidential election almost a year ago, the Green candidate Alexander van der Bellen defeated Norbert Hofer of the FPÖ (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, Austrian Freedom Party). After investigators discovered, ahem, irregularities in the postal votes, the run-off was rescheduled for later in the year. Mr. Van der Bellen won again, and became the president of Austria.

The new president caused a stir recently when he talked about a woman’s right to wear hijab. His reaction to criticism was even more controversial, as you will see. But first a brief report from the Austrian state broadcaster ORF. Many thanks to Egri Nök for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

We don’t have a full translation yet, but the gist of Pres. Van der Bellen’s response to his critics is that he was highlighting the oppression of veiled women, whose garments he compared with the forced wearing of the yellow Star of David by Jews during Nazi times.

Now, that’s weird enough. I thought we were supposed to be showing solidarity with women who choose to wear hijab! Did the Jews wear the yellow star as a free choice? Are hijab-wearing women being persecuted? The analogy is ludicrous and incoherent.

To top it all off, he compared what he was advocating to the Danes’ wearing of the yellow star during the war in solidarity with Danish Jews. Not only is the comparison inapt, but the Danish story is a myth — a pleasant, heart-warming story, but a myth nonetheless — it didn’t happen.

Such is the current president of Austria.

Video transcript: