Austria swears in new coalition with far-right

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‍Austria’s new coalition was sworn in on Monday, which sees a return to government for the far-right and a 31-year-old become the world’s youngest leader.

President Alexander Van der Bellen received the new cabinet at the Hofburg palace in central Vienna on Monday morning for an official signing ceremony.

But who is in the new cabinet? And what does the far-right’s involvement mean for Austria and Europe?

What’s happened so far?

Sebastian Kurz led a revamped People’s Party (OeVP) to election victory on October 15, but rejected the second-placed Social Democrats (SPOe) – his usual coalition partner – in favor of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe).

Head of the Freedom Party (FPOe) Heinz-Christian Strache (L) and head of the People's Party (OeVP) Sebastian Kurz arrive for the swearing-in ceremony of the new government in Vienna, December 18, 2017. / Reuters Photo

After two months of negotiations, Kurz and FPOe leader Heinz-Christian Strache announced on Friday that they had reached a deal to form a coalition.

This is the third time since 1945 that the FPOe has made it into government in Austria: first in a coalition with the SPOe in 1983-1987, then with the OeVP in 2000-2005.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is now the world’s youngest leader at just 31. He already made international headlines when he became foreign minister at 27, but then went on to establish himself as head of the OeVP and led the party to its best election result in a decade.

Strache, 48, is now vice-chancellor and minister for sports. As FPOe leader since 2005, he has helped massively boost his party’s support. But he has also been accused of links to the extreme right as a young man. His entry into government sees him eclipse Austria’s former far-right leader Joerg Haider, who never made it onto the national stage.

Who is in the new cabinet?

Aside from Chancellor Kurz, the People’s Party has eight of the 15 positions in the new cabinet, with the Freedom Party taking seven.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen speaks during the swearing-in ceremony of the new government in Vienna, December 18, 2017 ./Reuters Photo

The finance, economy and justice portfolios remain in OeVP hands. But observers have raised concerns about the FPOe taking over the foreign, interior and defense jobs.

Six of the 15 ministers are women.

Significantly, none of the new government members, apart from Kurz, has held a cabinet position before.

The team includes a molecular biologist (women’s affairs and family), a former head of the Austrian Court of Audit (justice), former CEOs at insurance firm UNIQA (finance) and at mobile provider A1 (economy) and a vice rector at the University of Vienna (education).

Far-right in power

Perhaps the most well-known name however is that of the new infrastructure and transportation minister: Norbert Hofer.

Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache (R), third parliamentary president Norbert Hofer (L) and FPOe secretary general Herbert Kickl (centre) in parliament in Vienna, Austria on November 9, 2017. /VCG Photo

The 46-year-old came close to being elected president last year – a largely ceremonial role, which would have nevertheless seen the first far-right head of state in Europe since the end of World War Two.

All eyes will also be on Herbert Kickl, the new interior minister and the FPOe’s long-time chief strategist. He was the man behind the party’s notorious anti-Islam poster campaigns and observers will be watching whether he intends to translate those ideas into policy.

For this reason, President Van der Bellen is said to have insisted that the interior ministry appoint a state secretary from the OeVP to act as a “minder” for Kickl, the daily Die Presse reported.

The new foreign minister, Karin Kneissl, is a Middle East expert who graduated from France’s prestigious Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA), whose alumni include French president Emmanuel Macron.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen meets then Foreign Minister and leader of the conservative Austrian People's Party (OeVP) Sebastian Kurz on October 17, 2017 in Vienna, Austria. /VCG Photo

She will not however handle EU affairs which have been handed to a new “chancellery minister for the EU, media, culture and the arts,” in a bid to appease those worried that the FPOe – which has in the past called for Austria to leave the EU – would oversee relations with the bloc.

Policy plans

In their coalition program presented over the weekend, Kurz and Strache put the emphasis on lowering taxes and cutting red tape, as well as curbing illegal immigration and lowering social benefits for asylum seekers.

An existing smoking ban will be dropped. An FPOe campaign promise to allow more “direct democracy” via referendums will go ahead but has been watered down.

Amid concerns that security dossiers will fall entirely under far-right control, the coalition partners announced that Austria's intelligence agencies will report regularly to the chancellor, vice-chancellor and president – who is commander of the army.

Sebastian Kurz (L) and Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels on October 19, 2017. /VCG Photo

They also quickly pledged their continued commitment to the EU, following fears the FPOe could call for a referendum on membership.

On Tuesday, Kurz is due to travel to Brussels and meet with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Council President Donald Tusk. Austria takes over the EU presidency in the second half of 2018.

What next?

After two months of coalition talks during which observers predicted worst-case scenarios for the new government, the daily Die Presse ruled that the new program for Austria was “rather harmless. Many controversial themes have been elegantly put off.”

The ruling parties have repeatedly said they want to introduce a “new political style” and do away with the bickering that often plagued OeVP-SPOe grand coalitions.

What the day-to-day policy-making will look like however remains to be seen.

Ahead of the new government’s swearing in, several thousand protesters demonstrated in Vienna on Monday.

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