nothing to fear as austrian farright enters government
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today
Egypt Today, egypt today
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today

'Nothing to fear' as Austrian far-right enters government

Egypt Today, egypt today

Egypt Today, egypt today 'Nothing to fear' as Austrian far-right enters government

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen receives Sebastian Kurz
Vienna - Egypt Today

Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) was in triumphant mood Saturday after agreeing a coalition deal with the conservatives, capping a year of successes for Europe's nationalist movements.

As the parties met to rubber-stamp the accord struck the previous day, Herbert Kickl, the FPOe's secretary general and Austria's next interior minister, said he had "very, very good feeling".

"Nobody has anything to fear," Kickl said, one of six FPOe ministers in the new government including defence and foreign affairs. Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache, 48, will be vice-chancellor.

The agreement reached by Sebastian Kurz's People's Party (OeVP) and the FPOe sets Kurz, 31, up to become chancellor and also the world's youngest leader.

Kurz and Strache were to unveil their programme on Saturday afternoon, with the government likely to be sworn in on Monday.

The OeVP came first in October snap elections after Kurz -- who is known as "wunderwuzzi" or "whizz-kid" -- rebranded the formerly staid party as his own personal "movement", promising to get tough on immigration and to lower taxes.

- Economy and security -

"Our aims are quite clear. We want to ease the tax burden for people, we want to strengthen our economy, which will bolster our social system," Kurz said late Friday.

"And first and foremost we want to increase security in our country, including by combatting illegal immigration," Kurz told reporters.

The anti-immigration FPOe came third in the election with 26 percent of the vote, which was double the stunning 13 percent notched up by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in elections the month before.

Both Kurz and Strache stoked concerns about immigration following a record influx in 2015, and also took advantage of voter fatigue with the OeVP's previous "grand coalition" with the Social Democrats (SPOe).

Their success was mirrored in elections elsewhere in Europe this year.

Geert Wilders' Freedom Party became the second-largest in the Netherlands, France's National Front was in a runoff for the presidency in May and the AfD entered the Bundestag, re-drawing Germany's political map.

- Real power -

But the FPOe is rare in western Europe, having translated its ballot box success into real power. Last year it came close to winning the largely ceremonial presidency.

The last time the FPOe entered government was in 2000 under Joerg Haider, its controversial leader at the time who has since died, in a move which saw Austria briefly ostracised within the European Union.

This time though the reaction is likely to be much more muted with the FPOe seen as having mellowed and with Europe more inured to rightwing parties.

Several different groups including the anti-fascist "Offensive against the Right" have said they plan to stage demonstrations on Monday in Vienna.

The FPOe is also ambivalent about the EU but the joint programme shows that Kurz has managed to ensure the government will be decidedly pro-European, political analyst Thomas Hofer said.

"The European part is very strongly influenced by the OeVP and it is ruled out that there might be a referendum on Austria's membership of the EU or other international organisations," Hofer told AFP.

- 'A clear mandate' -

"The election gave a clear mandate from the Austrian people to take people's concerns seriously in this country, to listen and to avoid a repeat of the mistakes of recent years," Strache said Friday.

"That covers lots of areas -- security, illegal immigration and also the tax cuts that are needed... The main thing is the responsibility to represent the people of this wonderful homeland."

Kurz and Strache's news conference later was to be held atop the Kahlenberg hill overlooking Vienna and the Danube river, a location of major symbolic importance for the FPOe.

There, in 1683, a Polish king launched an attack that broke the Ottoman siege of Vienna. Some of Europe's nationalists liken the 17th-century Ottoman offensive to the immigration of Muslims in recent years.

"They say there is no real relevance but of course at least for the FPOe it has some relevance with 1683," Hofer told AFP. "The pictures up there will be pretty nice."

egypttoday
egypttoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

nothing to fear as austrian farright enters government nothing to fear as austrian farright enters government



GMT 09:23 2019 Friday ,30 August

Testing

GMT 09:34 2019 Monday ,19 August

Live a positive and important atmosphere

GMT 01:34 2014 Friday ,04 July

Egypt to join New York's museum exhibit

GMT 10:11 2019 Monday ,19 August

Resist your appetite and weakness

GMT 21:17 2014 Saturday ,25 January

Europe oil buyers return to Tehran to talk business

GMT 16:40 2017 Monday ,13 February

Muscat bourse edges down on weak sentiment

GMT 10:32 2011 Friday ,14 October

Milan mayor hails Kuwait for festival success

GMT 15:21 2011 Thursday ,23 June

Lost property is found art at new London show

GMT 08:10 2017 Saturday ,15 July

Attacker of 6 tourists in Hurghada arrested

GMT 09:01 2017 Wednesday ,14 June

Two doctors attacked by patient’s relatives

GMT 10:38 2016 Saturday ,26 November

Denmark eye first World Cup, chased by USA

GMT 11:35 2012 Sunday ,15 April

World\'s most incredible mountain views

GMT 12:46 2012 Tuesday ,13 March

Mini guide to Great Singapore

GMT 11:16 2012 Thursday ,15 March

Dublin\'s Viking heritage

GMT 11:28 2011 Thursday ,23 June

School hit by measles outbreak

GMT 02:58 2017 Friday ,13 January

Typeface designers create new Arabic fonts

GMT 09:38 2017 Friday ,18 August

In Lebanon, salt producers fear craft is drying up

GMT 11:22 2013 Tuesday ,29 January

Google unveils detailed North Korea map

GMT 19:39 2015 Wednesday ,11 November

Apple Music picks up beat on Android phones

GMT 09:04 2016 Saturday ,23 April

Google seeks to play down EU Android probe

GMT 06:21 2013 Thursday ,17 October

Assailants throw grenades at radio station in Puntland

GMT 07:50 2015 Sunday ,27 December

Cue Card pips Vautour in vintage King George VI Chase

GMT 00:55 2012 Tuesday ,21 February

Simpsons marks 500th episode, Assange guest stars
 
 Egypt Today Facebook,egypt today facebook  Egypt Today Twitter,egypt today twitter Egypt Today Rss,egypt today rss  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
egypttoday, Egypttoday, Egypttoday