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Austria set to elect youngest EU leader

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Published: 08:53, 15 October 2017   Update: 15:18, 26 July 2020
Austria set to elect youngest EU leader

Sebastian Kurz

International Desk: Austrians are voting on Sunday in a snap election tipped to make conservative Sebastian Kurz, 31, the European Union's youngest leader and form an alliance with the far-right.

A rightward shift in the wealthy country of 8.75 million people would be a fresh headache for Brussels, as it already struggles with Britain's decision to leave and the rise of nationalists in Germany, Hungary, Poland and elsewhere.

But all signs indicate that Austrians, fed up with a record influx of asylum-seekers, want to swap the gridlocked centrist rule for a more hardline government for the first time in a decade.

The People's Party (OeVP) -- rebranded by Kurz as his personal "movement" -- is projected to reap more than 30 percent of the vote with pledges to go tough on migrants and easy on taxes.

The fresh-faced "whizz-kid" is likely to form a coalition with the eurosceptic Freedom Party (FPOe), forecast to place second or third with at least 25 percent.

Founded by ex-Nazis, the FPOe almost won the presidency last year and topped opinion polls before Kurz stole votes with his radical OeVP makeover in spring.

FPOe chief Heinz-Christian Strache, 48, railed against asylum-seekers and vowed to stop Austrians from "becoming a minority in our own homeland", at a rally late Friday.

Embattled Chancellor Christian Kern, 51, and his once-mighty Social Democrats (SPOe) could be flushed into opposition after their promising campaign suffered blunders and scandals.

Open hostility between the ex-railway chief and Kurz also makes any new attempt at ruling together seem unlikely.

Kern, in office since last May, issued a final warning on Saturday against a right-wing alliance, saying "Austria was at the most important crossroads in decades".

The OeVP and FPOe already shared power between 2000 and 2007. At the time the alliance with the far-right -— then led by the late, SS-admiring Joerg Haider —- ostracised Austria.

But its return may not trigger the same backlash now that nationalists have gained ground across Europe.

Agencies



risingbd/Dhaka/Oct 15, 2017/Nasim

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