The Austrian Freedom Party’s victory in this week’s election may be a harbinger of the death throes of European centrism, says Ralph Schoellhammer in the Telegraph – and opposition to mass immigration and Covid lockdowns were key drivers. Here’s an excerpt.
The global wave of Right-wing populism first emerged in Austria, almost precisely 32 years ago. In 1992, the then-leader of the hard-Right Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) Jörg Haider initiated a public referendum called Österreich zuerst, or Austria First. Haider and his party demanded an end to mass immigration, more money for police and law enforcement, and a cap on non-German speaking pupils in state schools.
Whether consciously or unconsciously, Right-wing populists from Trump to Farage have been following in Haider’s footsteps – but he was ahead of them by at least two decades. After being killed in a car crash in 2008, Mr Haider could not witness the ultimate triumph of his former party, which came in first with 28.8% of the vote in yesterday’s federal elections.
For 80 years, every Austrian election was either won by the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) or the Social Democrats (SPÖ); since 1945 for more than half the time they have governed together, in what has become known as a Grand Coalition. They might end up governing together yet again, but it would be a coalition of the losers, with nothing grand about it.
Gone are the days where those two parties could monopolise almost 70% of the vote, and yesterday’s results of 26.3% for the ÖVP and 21.1% for the SPÖ are disasters of historical proportions.
As expected, the triumph of the FPÖ immediately led to the Freedom Party being maligned as Nazis and Putin stooges. But this entirely ignores why voters moved to the Right in such huge numbers. …
The FPÖ’s success can be attributed to three main factors. Firstly, their strong stance on migration. As a nationalist party unafraid to discuss “remigration”, it has always had substantial support from those favouring closed borders over open ones.
Secondly, the Covid policies of the ruling Conservative-Green coalition, which have been some of the strictest in Europe. Under Herbert Kickl’s leadership, the FPÖ positioned itself as a vocal critic of these policies, further fuelled by the Government’s harsh rhetoric about an “epidemic of the unvaccinated” and the near-implementation of a compulsory federal vaccine mandate.
Even though Covid is now a distant memory for many, a segment of the population ardently opposed to those policies now supports the FPÖ. Lastly, voter mobilisation played a crucial role. With a voter turnout nearing 80%, it appears that many former non-voters were drawn to the FPÖ.
Additionally, a growing sense of pessimism, with six out of 10 Austrians dissatisfied with the country’s direction, contributed to its rise.
Worth reading in full.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.