Free Republic

A coalition between the anti-immigration Austrian People's Party and the anti-establishment Austrian Freedom Party, which will be sworn into office on December 18, is poised to catapult Austria to the vanguard of Western Europe's resistance to mass migration from the Muslim world. The massive demographic and religious shift underway in Austria, traditionally a Roman Catholic country, appears irreversible. Austria has also emerged as a major base for radical Islam. "We have a lot in common [with Israel]. I always say, if one defines the Judeo-Christian West, then Israel represents a kind of border. If Israel fails, Europe fails. And if...

The far-right Freedom Party has secured the key posts of foreign, interior and defense in Austria's new coalition government for its nominees. Governing with the conservative People's Party, the move makes Austria the only country in Western Europe to have a far-right party in power. Austria's president approved the new coalition on Saturday, two months after inconclusive elections. People's Party leader Sebastian Kurz, 31. will be Austria's new chancellor. He will become the world's youngest head of government...... Although it is the junior coalition partner, the anti-immigration Freedom Party has secured several key posts in the new cabinet. Party leader...

In Europe’s latest shift to the right, the expected next chancellor of Austria announced that his conservative party had cemented terms to form a government with the country’s anti-immigrant Freedom Party. In announcing the deal, which comes exactly two months after the Alpine country’s parliamentary election, Sebastian Kurz said his center-right conservatives and the nationalists had agreed to govern on a platform of tax cuts, social welfare and an increasingly tough stance against illegal immigration. Mr. Kurz, who is expected become the world’s youngest leader at 31 years old when the country’s president approves his coalition, said that Austrians voted...

Warsaw’s controversial shake-up of its judiciary, which could force two-fifths of supreme court judges to step down, is causing increasing friction with Brussels. The country’s new prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, is braced for the EU to issue an extaordinary formal warning by triggering article 7.1, a procedure which could lead to member states having bloc voting rights suspended. He said: “As far as I understand, the decision has already been made that next Wednesday [December 20] the European Commission plans to start article 7.1…it will most likely be triggered.” This could pave the way for the suspension of voting rights...

Austria’s new chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, said that the European Union’s migrant quotas have not worked and that he wants to change the “erroneous refugee policy”. Kurz has now joined forces with the leaders of Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic; countries that have already refused to adopt the EU migrant quota scheme. According to Kurz it is “positive that Tusk (President of the European Council) and several European states are pressing first and foremost for decent border protection and spending more EU funds on this”. Earlier Tusk called the troubled scheme “ineffective” and “highly divisive” before an EU summit in...

A fire followed the blast which happened around 08:45 (07:45 GMT) at the Baumgarten site, just east of the capital Vienna, near the Slovak border. On Twitter, Austrian police said the situation was under control and a technical fault had caused the blast. The flow of Russian gas has dropped, triggering price hikes in Europe. Baumgarten is a major hub for imported gas Russian gas, which is sent on to a number of European countries. The facility receives about 40bn cubic metres of gas per year. ... Gas Connect said the incident should have no effect on gas deliveries to...

Austria's top court has ruled that same-sex couples can get married from the start of 2019, declaring a previous law discriminatory. The Constitutional Court overturned a law that restricted same-sex unions to civil partnerships, according to court documents seen by CNN. The decision brings Austria into line with many other European nations including Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and the UK.

November 17, 2017 was literally a Black Friday. Reinhard Fellner, a card-carrying Social Democrat as well as chief of “Initiative Social Austria,” was sentenced in provincial court to three months (three years on probation) for denigration of Islam (§ 283 StGb). Any ever-so-small criticism of Islam in the next three years will lead to the completion of the sentence. This is so much more shocking, since he made a very mild criticism, which is far below the level of criticism which would be possible and necessary in a free and open society, to call attention to the dangers endemic to...

The remarkable life of the Hollywood siren who pioneered groundbreaking scientific inventions that paved the way for wifi and Bluetooth will be told in a new film. Hedy Lamarr, considered by her show business peers to be the most beautiful woman in the world during the 1940s and 50s, starred alongside the likes of Spencer Tracy, James Stewart and Clark Gable during her glittering acting career. But she was also a brilliant scientist who helped devise a frequency-hopping system which eventually formed the foundation for modern technologies such as wifi, GPS and Bluetooth.

New statistics from the Ministry of the Interior show that last year's sex offenders have reached a dramatic peak: from 2015 to 2016 a rise of 26.18 percent. It is especially striking that Afghans are often seen as perpetrators in statistics. As the "press" reported on Thursday, 5253 sexual offenses were reported in 2016, compared with 4163 cases the year before. In 2017, on the other hand, a better result could be steered, as in the first half-year, 2422 sexual offenses were reported. Afghans are at the top of sex offenders A look at the nationalities of the suspects in...

In a surge of populist fervor, Austrian voters ousted leftist incumbents from office Sunday and swept a young conservative and his party into power. The center-right People's Party (OVP) claimed the top spot in the national elections, with 31 percent of the vote. As a result, party leader Sebastian Kurz is advancing to the chancellorship of Austria. At just 31, upon assuming office Kurz will be world's youngest national leader. After declaring victory, Kurz vowed that it's time for a change in Austria and thanked those for entrusting him to guide the country through the coming transformation, "Many people have placed great...

Sebastian Kurz's election victory last night has sent shockwaves through Europe as it appears he may seek a coalition with the country's anti-immigration Freedom Party. The Eurosceptic leader of Austria's right-leaning People's Party has declared victory in a national election that puts him on track to become the world's youngest leader. Kurz, 31, fell well short of a majority and may be looking to strike a deal with another party. The Freedom Party (FPO) got around 26 percent of votes in Sunday's parliamentary vote, boosted by a European migration crisis in 2015 that affected Austria and also led Kurz to...

VIENNA — At age 31, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz is poised to become the first millennial to lead a European country following his party’s victory in a national election Sunday. While no party won a majority, the telegenic Kurz is most likely to be sworn in as Austria’s next chancellor — and Europe’s youngest leader — after the tough coalition government negotiations that lie ahead. Near-final results from Sunday’s balloting put his People’s Party comfortably in first place, with 31.4 percent of the vote. The right-wing Freedom Party came in second with 27.4 percent. The center-left Social Democratic Party...

Angela Merkel’s misguided migration policy — which allowed nearly 1 million people from Africa and the Middle East to enter Germany in 2015 — has claimed another political victim. Her centrist Christian Democratic government lost a great deal of support to the populist Alternative for Germany in last month’s election because of her mishandling of the migration flood. And today, Christian Kern, the left-wing Social Democratic chancellor of Austria, lost his job because of his own party’s involvement in opening Austria to 75,000 new migrants. Germany borders Austria, and many refugees and economic migrants entered Germany through Austria, with 75,000...

Vienna (AFP) - Austria's political "whizz-kid" Sebastian Kurz was on course Sunday to become Europe's youngest leader, potentially in coalition with the far-right, after his conservative party looked to have triumphed in elections. Kurz's People's Party (OeVP) won 30.5 percent of the vote, followed by Chancellor Christian Kern's Social Democrats (SPOe) on 27.1 percent and the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) on 25.9 percent, projections on public TV showed. Kurz, 31, nicknamed "wunderwuzzi", ("whizzkid") took over the OeVP in May and managed to attract supporters in droves by depicting himself as a breath of fresh air, talking tough on immigration and...

SEBASTIAN Kurz is expected to clinch victory in the Austria elections, according to the latest projections, which could see him form an alliance with the far right in a crushing blow for the European Union.

The flood of refugees that rolled over Europe in 2015 affected Austria more than any other country except its neighbor Germany. Today, Austrians go to the polls in parliamentary elections that could elevate a 31 year old nationalist to the chancellorship. Sebastian Kurz, the charismatic leader of the Austrian People's Party (OVP) left the coalition government with the Social Democrats when he was elevated to the party's top spot last May. The cause of the split was the ongoing debate over refugees in Austria, who have put a huge drain on government resources. Austria is a conservative Cathloic country and...

The country of Haydn and Mozart has had a bellyful of the countries of Mohammed: Austrians profiting from the fastest economic growth in six years look likely to ditch their current coalition in favor of a new government backed by anti-immigration nationalists and headed by the world’s youngest leader. Polls suggest that Austria’s 31-year-old Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz will lead his conservative People’s Party to victory in Sunday’s election. That could set the stage for a coalition with Heinz-Christian Strache’s populist Freedom Party, unwinding a decade of Social Democratic-led administrations that revived the economy but struggled with issues over...

A man dressed as a shark has been arrested under Austria's burka ban laws while working as a mascot outside a shop. The employee was standing outside McShark in a shark suit to advertise the new electronics store in Vienna. Police officers demanded he removed his shark head and when he refused, protesting he was 'just doing his job', they arrested him and slapped him with a fine.

AUSTRIA’s ruling party the Social Democrats (SPÖ) faces a tight battle with an anti-EU party for second place in the country's latest election news, a new poll reveals.