VIENNA, Austria – Austria’s far-right Freedom Party agrees to enter talks on forming a coalition government with incoming chancellor Sebastian Kurz, offering a fresh boost to populist parties in Europe.
The conservative chancellor, 31, invites the FPOe (Freedom Party) for talks, paving the way for the party to return to power nearly two decades after it last entered government in 2000.
“We have accepted this invitation,” says FPOe leader Heinz-Christian Strache. His party came third in elections on October 15.
The last time the FPOe entered government Austria was ostracized in Europe. Its then leader Joerg Haider praised Hitler’s “orderly” employment policies.
But such a backlash is not expected this time. The FPOe — Founded by ex-Nazis after World War II — has sought to soften its image.
Austria’s Foreign Minister and leader of the center-right People’s Party (OeVP) Sebastian Kurz talks to the media as he arrives at Hofburg Palace for a TV debate following the general elections in Vienna, Austria, on October 15, 2017. (AFP Photo/Vladimir Simicek)
— AFP
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