(CNN)The commanding victory of populist parties in Austria’s national election on Sunday is certain to reverberate beyond the borders of the nation of 8.5 million. Coming on the heels of record gains made by the far right in Germany last month, nationalist and anti-immigrant forces across the European Union are feeling emboldened by the vote, which could well bring Austria’s Islamophobic Freedom Party to power in a coalition government in Vienna.
31-year-old Sebastian Kurz, captured 31.5% of the vote, while the Freedom Party took 26%. In one of the shrillest, most racially inflected campaigns in the county’s recent history, the ruling Socialist Party of Austria dropped to 26.9%.
Categories:
Leave a Reply