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Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has asked the leader of the country’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) to form a new ruling coalition in what could yield the first far-right-led government in Austria since World War II.
FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl “has the confidence to find viable solutions within the framework of government negotiations and he wants to fulfill this responsibility,” Van der Bellen said in a televised address after the two leaders met Monday in Vienna.
“I did not take this step lightly,” he added.
Hundreds of protesters, including Jewish students and left-wing activists, gathered outside the presidential office in Vienna holding banners to boo and whistle, shouting “Nazis out.”
The development marks another boost for far-right lawmakers in Europe, where extreme political parties have gained momentum as incumbent centrists have struggled to build coalitions and hold on to power.
In France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party has surged in the polls, while President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance has slumped. In neighboring Germany, Alternative for Germany, which is currently being monitored by Berlin’s own intelligence agency for suspected extremism, is expected to fare well in next month’s election following a collapse in support for current Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“The overall trend is unmistakable: The far right is gaining ground,” Matthijs Rooduijn, a politics professor at the University of Amsterdam told NBC News in October.
“The ideas of these parties have been legitimized by many mainstream right-wing parties, and political as well as media discourse has shifted to the right,” Rooduijn added. “What was once considered radical has now become the new normal for many voters.”
Van der Bellen’s announcement constitutes a major departure in the direction of Austrian lawmakers’ attempts to form a government after the ruling conservatives held a crisis meeting Sunday following the resignation of current Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Saturday.
The meeting, aimed at countering the FPÖ by cobbling together a centrist coalition of the Social Democrats and liberals, was ultimately unsuccessful and left Van der Bellen with few options.
The Austrian president, whose job it is to ensure a workable government is created, had been trying to form a coalition since October. But those attempts failed after Nehammer’s conservative Austrian People’s Party, along with other parties, refused to work with the far-right FPÖ.
Nehammer’s party indicated it was open to collaborating under Kickl’s leadership following his resignation.
During Austria’s parliamentary elections in September, the FPÖ won an unprecedented 28.8% of the vote and came out on top. Opinion polls suggest that if an election were held now, support for the far-right party would be even stronger.
The Russia-friendly FPÖ, which was founded by former Nazis, advocates for strict border controls and the suspension of asylum rights through emergency laws. It also wants to oversee the “remigration of uninvited foreigners” and to create a more “homogeneous” society.
Astha Rajvanshi is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London. Previously, she worked as a staff writer covering international news for TIME.
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