Austria’s Coming Man

From the desk of The Brussels Journal on Wed, 2008-07-23 09:08

A quote from The Financial Times, 22 July 2008

Almost a decade after a remarkable poll success that propelled Austria’s rightwing Freedom party (FPÖ) into government and shocked the rest of Europe, it appears poised again to play a key political role. […] Polls now suggest that it could hold the balance of power after snap elections called for September following the coalition government’s collapse this month.

A strong showing for the FPÖ – which polls put on 20 per cent support, almost double its showing in elections two years ago – could see Austria adopt a more hostile tone towards the rest of the European Union.

Heinz-Christian Strache, the FPÖ’s firebrand leader, has long favoured powerful anti-Brussels rhetoric. […] “Hostility to Europe has become a potent force in Austrian politics. Strache’s Freedom party is reaping the fruits of the major parties’ inability to convey the advantages of EU membership and eastern enlargement to voters,” said Thomas Hofer, a political analyst. […]

Both the main parties have ruled out forming a coalition with Mr Strache, who has vowed to remain in opposition. But even from outside government, Mr Strache, 39, who took over the party leadership in 2005 when Mr Haider broke away to set up a splinter party, has already managed to display influence. […] Mr Strache appears refreshing to many supporters. But his rhetoric is, if anything, even more strident than that of Mr Haider – especially on the subjects of Turkey and Muslim immigrants – and with no attempt to appeal to the centre. “Haider gathered old people nostalgic for the past. But today, the party’s supporters are mostly men in their 30s with extremely far-right views, and they are really scary,” says Peter Filzmeier, a political scientist. […]

While the two main parties rule out […] another grand coalition – the only realistic alternative if the FPÖ were excluded from the next government – [such a deal] is also unappealing for the Social Democrats and the People’s Party. Such a move, says Mr Filzmeier, would “prolong [Mr Strache’s] success, and the next time he could be number two or even number one”.

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"But today, the party’s

Submitted by Pankukas on Wed, 2008-07-23 13:40.

"But today, the party’s supporters are mostly men in their 30s with extremely far-right views, and they are really scary"

*giggles* Nope, what's really "scary" to your average "liberal" political scientist or the leadership of neither-this-nor-that European "peoples party" is that:

1) FPÖ challenges status quo, which permitted neither-this-nor-that rainbow coalitions to govern comfortably;
2) Strache is very articulate and the stances advocated by FPÖ  are tough to argue against (how do you argue convincingly against "Deutsch statt 'nix verstehen'", "Heimat statt Schüssel und Brüssel", "Daham statt Islam")

The labels are so misleading, even mindless, when "right" is thrown around about FPÖ. At least in advocated positions the party actually looks very "socially oriented", although they do make an effort to underscore: social - not socialist. Being "EU citizen" I can vote in EU parliament and, I think, local elections, and the only things holding me from voting for FPÖ are:
- belief that Austrian elections should be for Austrians;
- doubt that their version of "social", too, may actually be too statist.

But if FPÖ will promise to rid certain Vienna U-Bahn areas of all the drug-pushing "asylum seekers" and their clientele (and to keep it that vay), I will make that effort and vote.

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