AUSTRIA OPTS FOR YOUTHFUL RIGHT
AUSTRIA has elected a baby-faced 31-year-old as its new chancellor as the country’s politics swung firmly to the right in the weekend’s elections.
Sebastian Kurz, who leads the conservative People’s Party, claimed victory on Sunday night and while he fell well short of a majority, he is expected to form an alliance with the far-right Freedom Party, which has emerged as kingmaker.
The victory comes after an anti-immigration campaign which saw Mr Kurz, who took over the People’s Party only in May, call for restrictions on migration, and the cutting of benefits for European Union migrants living in Austria. He also wants the EU to have less control over Austrian law and policy.
At 31 years of age, he is the youngest elected leader in the European Union – and possibly in the world.
“We have been given a great responsibility by the voters today,’’ Mr Kurz told supporters in Vienna.
“We should be aware of that and that people are putting a lot of hope in our movement. There is a lot to do. It’s about establishing a new political style in our country,” he said.