Anti-immigrant Austrian voters won't be denied this time!

The last time I wrote at length about Austrian politics was in the middle of 2016, when a conspiracy of the mainstream parties robbed the right-wing populist Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) of victory in that country's presidential election. On 1 July 2016 the Constitutional Court ruled that there had been some "irregularities" and ordered a do-over. The result was a clear(er) win for the pro-EU former Greenie Alexander Van der Bellen.

The liberal meeja were all cock-a-hoop over the defeat of FPÖ leader Norbert Hofer, saying that Austrian voters had "decisively rejected the possibility of the EU getting its first far-right head of state, instead electing a former leader of the Green party who said he would be an 'open-minded, liberal-minded and above all a pro-European president'." (The Grauniad, 4/12/16) All very well, but liberals and one-worlders lost sight of the fact that the presidency of Austria is a ceremonial position. The president is just a figurehead. Real power lies with the Austrian parliament.

Today, Austrians voted in a general election in which the main issue was immigration. Overwhelmingly negative public sentiment has forced even the mainstream political parties to call for tougher immigration policies, and the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) is expected to increase its representation in parliament significantly.

The frontrunner, according to the latest polls, is the conservative People's Party (ÖVP), led by 31-year-old Sebastian Kurz, another selfie-loving glamour boy in the mold of Canada's Trudeau or France's Macron. Herr Kurz seems likely to become the next chancellor (= prime minister) of a coalition government in which his party will be joined by... wait for it... the FPÖ! The Social Democrats, who were the junior partners with the ÖVP in the last government, will challenge the FPÖ for second place, but even if they finish second, the ÖVP will have little choice (because of the immigration issue) but to work with the FPÖ, leaving the liberals in opposition.

Immigration has been a dominant issue in the campaign, and the election comes amid anxiety in Austria (and Europe as a whole) over the huge influx of illegal migrants, "refugees" and asylum-seekers which fuelled an electoral breakthrough by the AfD (Alternativ für Deutschland)in neighbouring Germany last month. See "German election results 'a political earthquake'", WWW 24/9/17.

Since the beginning of the refugee crisis in 2015, the political landscape of Austria has shifted to the right. Just how far it has shifted should be known in the next six hours. Stay tuned.