Originally published via Armageddon Prose:
The ascendant so-called European “far-right” has claimed another scalp — this time in, of all places, Austria, not typically regarded as a hotbed of political extremism.
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Via Express (emphasis added):
“The far-Right won the most votes in an Austrian election for the first time since World War Two on Sunday, as the Freedom Party (FPÖ) plans to "open the doors to a new era”.
Founded by a group of Nazi SS officers in the 1950s*, Herbert Kickl’s party won 29.2% of the vote according to official provisional results - almost three points ahead of the conservative People's Party (ÖVP) on 26.5%.
While the win is clear, it is not enough of a majority, and Kickl will have to form a coalition if he wants to take the country's reins.
The party's triumph is yet another sign of an increasingly Right-leaning Europe. Unlike in other parts of Europe, the FPO has recently been in power as a junior coalition partner.
The opposition Social Democratic party scored its worst ever result – 21% – while the liberal NEOS drew about 9%. There was a high turnout of 74.9% as Austrian voters took part in an election dominated by migration and asylum issues, as well as the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.”
*”Literal Nazis”!
Perhaps if the left hadn’t been slandering everybody and their mother as a “literal Nazi” for years now, the smear might hold some water. Alas, the term has been so watered down as to be meaningless.
No one cares what Nazi founded which parties in the 1950s; this is 2024, and almost no one, and certainly not any mainstream party in the EU, is actually trying to recreate the Third Reich.
Is the below what a literal Nazi looks like; could Herbert Kickl, FPO leader, come off as any more conventional and inoffensive?
Nevertheless, as in the case of AfD and its upset victory last month in Germany, an “anti-Kickl” coalition is already forming to prevent the FPO from ever assuming power despite winning a plurality of the vote — because Democracy™ or whatever.
Via Euronews (emphasis added):
“To become Austria's new leader, Kickl needs a coalition partner to command a parliamentary majority, and that might be tricky.
He has said he is open to negotiating with other parties, but his rivals — including Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Social Democrats leader Andreas Babler — have refused the possibility of working with the far right, turning him down yet again on Sunday night…
"I have always said, with Herbert Kickl, who believes in conspiracy theories, who accuses the WHO of being the next world government and the meeting in Davos of being a preparatory meeting for world domination, you can't run a state sensibly and responsibly with him. And I still stand by that," he said.
A major question is whether the ÖVP and Social Democrats will align — potentially with an additional, smaller party like the Greens or NEOS — to form an anti-Kickl coalition.”
Related: German Minister Announces Pre-Crime Surveillance, Prosecution of ‘Far-Right Extremists’
Ben Bartee is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs.
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