On Sunday, Austria elected the 31-year-old former foreign minister and leader of the People’s Party Sebastian Kurz as its next chancellor. Kurz, who will now be the world’s youngest leader, is the latest in a string of populist right-wing candidates who have performed exceptionally well in European elections.
The overarching issue that defined this election was — as it has been throughout Europe for the past three years — immigration, and how to handle the largest mass exodus of refugees since World War II. Apart from the Populist Party’s success, which is a well established center-right party — the far-right Freedom Party headed by Heinz-Christian Strache performed well too, finishing with the second most votes in the election. Experts anticipate that Kurz, who voiced many of the Freedom Party’s views during the campaign, will likely form a coalition government with the Freedom Party, causing a dramatic right shift in Austrian politics and representing a clear defeat to the pro-immigration European Union.
The continued success of far-right candidates in Europe poses an immense threat to the EU and can perhaps be seen as the initial phase of the fragmentation of this European experiment.
Questions are emerging from this result on both the micro and macro scale. For the former, how might this rightward swing effect the lives of migrants currently living in Austria? Will the rise in right leaning regimes embolden EU and immigration opponents? How far are they willing to go? On the macro scale, we are once again presented with the inherent issue that plagues the EU and other multi-ethnic and multi-national organizations (most notably the United Nations). How can we find a balance between global and national interests? Is such a balance even possible?
As for the most immediate question pertaining to future immigration to Austria, Kurz has made it exceedingly clear that he is anti-immigration. He was elected in large part because of his history as an anti-immigration foreign minister, where his self-described greatest accomplishment was closing the Balkan border from asylum seekers in 2016.
Furthermore, he has spent his time in office pursuing goals of integrating and assimilating the 90,000 migrants who were already in Austria, and advocating for early childhood education. A heavily criticized policy of Kurz’s was the Integration Law he enacted on Oct. 1, banning Islamic face coverings in public places and requiring all immigrants to sign an integration contract and enroll in classes on German language and Austrian law. The law was criticized by some as being excessively harsh, with one of its provisions being a $585 fine and two weeks jail time for violating the face veil ban.
In light of Kurz’s past policies, it is easy to understand why some migrants may be concerned by the young leader’s ascension. The possible inclusion of the Freedom Party in Kurz’s government is only exacerbating these fears. European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor urged Kurz against joining forces with the Freedom Party and condemned them as “a party which has run on a platform of xenophobic intolerance and [that] the targeting of immigrants must not be granted a seat at the governing table.”
On the broader scale, Kurz’s election appears to be another victory for the Visegrad Group, a political pact between Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland which vehemently opposes immigration and centralization of EU authority.
Austria, who has long considered joining the Visegrad Group, is now being pushed closer to them with Kurz’s election. His competitor, Strache, has even spoken about his desire to “strengthen contact with the Visegrad states and … maybe even become a member of the Visegrad Group.” A closer affiliation with, or even inclusion into the Visegrad Group by Austria would provide another opponent to Brussels’ administration and maybe even empower other European states to question the legitimacy of the EU.
The increased skepticism towards the EU on behalf of its most prominent members like France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands has made the organization seem increasingly German led — a far cry from the union of equal states that was envisioned in Rome just half a century ago. In this framework, it is hard to blame the lesser nations of Europe, Austria included, from being wary at Berlin’s growing influence in EU leadership. Afterall, Germany was the very nation that conquered and/or ruled over the members of the Visegrad Group back in the First and Second World Wars. In this perspective, one might argue that Kurz and the Visegrad states’ apprehension towards immigration as not just a xenophobic impulse, but also an understandable caution towards complying with Angela Merkel’s decisions and decrees.
While this speculation has legitimate merit, if we return to the immediate issue, it cannot be denied that what Kurz intends to do — stopping the flow of refugees into Austria — will have life-altering effects on thousands seeking asylum. The Integration Law, though ostensibly presented as a benevolent initiative designed to foster greater social harmony, is more likely to result in even greater social tension and unease, as has been the case in France, where similar policies have been enacted. Furthermore, Austria’s rightward shift eliminates another participant in the EU’s noble yet flawed dedication to the admittance of Syrian refugees, and is likely to place even greater strain on Germany and the other states still complying with the EU’s mission.
Muslim immigration to Europe has had none of the hoped for benefits and the voters understand this and voted accordingly. Merkel’s open door policies have resulted in increased crime and a social welfare system on the brink of collapse. In Sweden, another open border EU nation the incidence of rape is up 1,400% since Muslim immigration was embraced.
The voters have spoken. One can only hope it is not too late as it is increasingly apparent that Islam is incompatible with western values particularly those surrounding individual freedoms.