The nationalist FPÖ (Freedom Party) have agreed to a deal with the centre-right ÖVP (People’s Party) to enter into a coalition government for only the second time in the party’s history.
Nationalist leader Heinz Christian-Strache agreed to the deal with People’s Party Chancellor-in-waiting Sebastian Kurz last night. Now it’s left to liberal President Alexander Van der Bellen to swallow his pride and ratify the proposed coalition government.
The Freedom Party entered government once before, in 2000, and the period was marked by abhorrent economic sanctions being placed on Austria by the anti-democratic European Union in response. The party buckled under international pressure and slipped away from the spotlight in 2005.
This time, however, things are different. It is notable that this time, the news has not been greeted by threats of sanctions, or of diplomatic isolation. This is demonstrative of the Overton shift that has occurred in recent years, despite the superficial clamp-down on nationalist politics by the elite.
The enemy know they’re on the back foot, as it were; this is evidenced in their lack of response to Austria’s new governmental arrangements.
And make no mistake about it, this new coalition government is a major victory for nationalism in Europe, a true “white pill” so to speak.
It was only after a blatantly rigged re-run of the presidential election last year that the FPÖ narrowly lost the presidency to liberal soy-enthusiast Van der…