Thousands in Austria join protests against far right

By AFP
January 26, 2024


A placard that reads 'Never again' at a "Defend Democracy" rally against the far right in Vienna - Copyright POOL/AFP Ludovic MARIN

Thousands of people took to the streets across Austria on Friday to protest against right-wing extremism and racism, inspired by similar rallies in neighbouring Germany.

In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands have joined the German protests against the AfD party, after its members were revealed to have discussed a mass deportation plan at a meeting with extremists.

Among the participants was Martin Sellner, a leader of Austria’s Identitarian Movement, which subscribes to the “great replacement” conspiracy theory that alleges a plot to replace Europe’s “native” white population with non-white migrants.

In the capital Vienna, several thousand demonstrators braved rain to gather near the parliament building on Friday evening, braving the rain.

“We are here to defend democracy and stand up against the extremist movements that are growing in Europe,” one participant, Elena Tiefenboeck, told AFP.

“So that the past doesn’t repeat itself” at a time when the far-right FPOe party is expected to win this year’s parliamentary elections, the 25-year-old student said.

One banner read “Kickl is a Nazi” in reference to the FPOe’s hardline leader Herbert Kickl, known for his fiercely anti-migrant campaigns.

Similar rallies took place in Salzburg and Innsbruck in western Austria.

The rallies were called by the Fridays for Future environmental group along with two other activist groups, Black Voices and the Platform for a Humane Asylum Policy.

More than 200 demonstrations are planned across Germany over the weekend, most of them in midsize towns, including in the east of the country, where the AfD has obtained its best electoral results.

Austria is due to hold general elections this year, but no date has yet been announced.

The conservative People’s Party (OeVP) governs in a coalition with the Greens, but their approval ratings have plummeted.

The FPOe is currently leading opinion polls, buoyed by discontent over inflation, migration and the war in Ukraine.

It is already part of coalitions that govern several Austrian provinces.

Earlier this month, Austria’s interior ministry warned of a “noticeable influx” in the country’s extreme right scene, announcing the arrests of two men.