Surveys on the eve of the Sept 28 general elections show the far-right Freedom Party and the Alliance for Austria’s Future capturing between 25 and 27 per cent of the vote–something unmatched since Jörg Haider led extreme rightists to a 27 per cent victory in 1999.
Now, with inflation at a 15-year-high of 3.9 per cent and a resurgent xenophobia helping stir voter passions, the country is teetering in political uncertainty.
“Xenophobic feelings are a lot stronger in Austria than in other EU countries,” said Helmut Weixler, European parliamentary spokesperson for the Greens.
“A large part of the population has problems [accepting] immigration, and guys like Haider and [Heinz-Christian] Strache exploit those populist feelings. They’re very good at that.”
Mr Strache, who is 39 and the new face of Austria’s virulently anti-foreigner right wing–his Freedom Party promotes slogans like “Vienna must not become Istanbul!” and “Home instead of Islam”–made great strides in elections in 2006 calling for Austria to expel all illegal immigrants and close the doors to new arrivals.
Particularly effective in whipping up the public’s fear of foreigners is Kronen Zeitung, an arch-right tabloid run by Hans Dichand that reaches some 40 per cent of the population and wields enormous political influence.This way you can keep your sexual performance and sex life can never be purchase levitra no prescription had if one is unable to satisfy his partner during intercourse, it results in lack of self confidence in him and this mindset affects him psychologically. GREEN TEA – It is said that it is used for hypertension and blood-related health problem as sample cialis well. After many pumping devices, injections, supplementations, impanation http://djpaulkom.tv/dj-paul-will-live-2012-gathering-of-the-juggalos/ cialis professional cipla and surgical processes, these are anti-impotent medicines to relieve many males with ED. It has a half-life of three to 4 hours. discount viagra online acts to increase blood flow into the penis during sexual stimulation.
“Almost no politician in Austria dares to speak out against Kronen Zeitung,” added Weixler.
But economic concerns and immigrant-bashing is not all this election is about. Many voters are simply tired of the ineffectual policies of the grand coalition, whose centre-left Social Democrats–led since June by Werner Faymann–and center-right Austrian People’s Party have floundered through two years of shared power under Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer.
Opinion polls show the two big parties’ combined total dipping below 60 per cent for the first time since World War II. Perhaps it was in the hope of stemming back the tide that Faymann recently reversed his party’s long-standing position not to hold a referendum on Europe, submitting a letter to the anti-EU Kronen Zeitung saying his party now wanted one.
Voters “are fed up with the left-right coalition,” Andreas Kirchhofer, a pollster with IMAS, told Reuters. “They want another kind of government, but they don’t really know exactly what that should look like.”