Austria Swears In a New Government That Includes the Far Right
- 6 years ago
Austria Swears In a New Government That Includes the Far Right
18, 2017
BERLIN — A new coalition government was sworn in on Monday in Austria,
and for the first time in more than 10 years it includes the far-right Freedom Party, a watershed for the populist movements that unsettled European politics this year.
The return to power of the Freedom Party, which was founded by neo-Nazis after World War II, was concerning enough
that Austria’s president, Alexander Van der Bellen, took the exceptional step of eliciting several promises from the new government before he would administer the oath of office.
Concerns over the Freedom Party’s neo-Nazi roots and its pro-Russia stance led Mr. Van der Bellen to include several checks
and balances in the new coalition government agreement.
Mr. Kurz said although his party had to reach compromises with its far-right partners, the Freedom
Party, many of the key issues from his own campaign would define the new government.
Bellen said that A pro-European direction of the future government is central,
Still, Mr. Van Der Bellen took precautions to try to insulate Austria against some of the turbulence
that populist movements have ushered in elsewhere, including in Britain, where they catalyzed the referendum in favor of leaving the European Union.
18, 2017
BERLIN — A new coalition government was sworn in on Monday in Austria,
and for the first time in more than 10 years it includes the far-right Freedom Party, a watershed for the populist movements that unsettled European politics this year.
The return to power of the Freedom Party, which was founded by neo-Nazis after World War II, was concerning enough
that Austria’s president, Alexander Van der Bellen, took the exceptional step of eliciting several promises from the new government before he would administer the oath of office.
Concerns over the Freedom Party’s neo-Nazi roots and its pro-Russia stance led Mr. Van der Bellen to include several checks
and balances in the new coalition government agreement.
Mr. Kurz said although his party had to reach compromises with its far-right partners, the Freedom
Party, many of the key issues from his own campaign would define the new government.
Bellen said that A pro-European direction of the future government is central,
Still, Mr. Van Der Bellen took precautions to try to insulate Austria against some of the turbulence
that populist movements have ushered in elsewhere, including in Britain, where they catalyzed the referendum in favor of leaving the European Union.