Austrian ‘whizz-kid’ brings right wing back into power

Austrian ‘whizz-kid’ brings right wing back into power

Vienna : Austria is set to become the only western European country with a far-right party in the government after the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPOe) and Sebastian Kurz’s conservatives struck a coalition deal, capping a year of successes for Europe’s nationalist movements.
As the parties met to rubber-stamp the accord struck on late Friday, Herbert Kickl, the FPOe’s secretary general and Austria’s next interior minister, said he had “very, very good feeling”. “Nobody has anything to fear,” Kickl said, one of six FPOe ministers in the new government including defence and foreign affairs. Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache, 48, will be vice-chancellor. The agreement reached by Sebastian Kurz’s People’s Party (OeVP) and the FPOe sets Kurz, 31, up to become chancellor and also the world’s youngest leader. Kurz and Strache were to unveil their programme soon, with the government likely to be sworn in on Monday.

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