Demos but no alarm for Austria’s rightwing govt
Vienna, (MILLAT ONLINE):With a heavy police presence keeping protestors at bay, Austria’s far-right was sworn in Monday as part of the new government, rounding off a triumphant year for Europe’s nationalists.
However, unlike the last time the Freedom Party (FPOe) entered government, in 2000, there was next to no alarm abroad, and the demonstrations in Vienna were tiny in comparison.
The coalition between the conservative People’s Party (OeVP) and the FPOe has pledged to stop illegal immigration, cut taxes and resist EU centralisation, and will be led by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of the OeVP, at 31 the world’s youngest leader.
His deputy is FPOe leader Heinz-Christian Strache, 48, who last year called German Chancellor Angela Merkel “the most dangerous woman in Europe” for her open-door refugee policy.
Interior minister is the FPOe’s Herbert Kickl, former speechwriter for Strache’s charismatic but highly controversial predecessor Joerg Haider, who was in charge of the FPOe in 2000. The party also secured the defence and foreign ministries.
In an interview with public broadcaster ORF on Monday evening, Kurz said his government should be “judged on its work” and not the reputation of his coalition partners.
Police told AFP that some 5,500 people took part in the largely peaceful demonstrations on Monday, where protesters brandished placards such as “refugees welcome” and “Nazis out”.
A heavy police presence of about 1,500 officers, with helicopters overhead and water-cannon trucks at the ready, blocked off the area around the Hofburg palace.
“I am very worried,” protestor Stefanie, 26, told AFP. “We saw what happened 15 years ago. The rich are favoured at the expense of the weak, the poor, refugees.”
President Alexander Van der Bellen called on the new government to show “respect for people who think differently, respect for the rights of minorities and support for the weakest in our society”.