In coalition with the People´s party, the Greens are enabling anti-immigration policies. Environmentalists elsewhere must not follow suitSince Tuesday Austria has been ruled, for the first time in its history, by a coalition government between the conservative People´s party (ÖVP) and the Greens. It is an unlikely partnership, not least because the ÖVP is one of the most rightwing of Europe´s conservative parties. Since taking control of the party in 2017, Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian chancellor, has transformed it into a hard-right, anti-immigrant outfit, successfully cannibalising the voter base of the populist far-right Freedom party (FPÖ), his coalition partner from 2017 until May last year. The previous government ended with a bang, when then-FPÖ leader and vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache had to resign over a corruption scandal. Related: Austria`s Greens vote to enter government with People`s party Kurz plans to prop up domestic support by vilifying Muslims and further fortifying the nation-state against migration movements Continue reading...
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