Protests muted as far-right takes office

VIENNA — Hundreds of police sealed off part of central Vienna on Monday as Austria became the only western European country with a far-right party in power, but protests against the swearing-in proved small and largely peaceful.

Conservative Sebastian Kurz, who is just 31, became chancellor in a coalition with the far right two months after winning a parliamentary election with a hard line on immigration after Austria was swept up in Europe’s refugee crisis in 2015.

The last time the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPO) entered government in Austria, demonstrations were so big that the cabinet took a tunnel from the chancellery to the swearing-in ceremony at the president’s office across the street.

There was no need for that this time as, almost 18 years on and to a significantly more muted reaction, the country once again became an exception among its peers, but in a very different European political landscape.

Protests nearby drew only a fraction of the tens of thousands who gathered in 2000 — and criticism from across the continent has also been more restrained.

“We will certainly not be going underground to the Hofburg, but rather with our heads held high in the street,” FPO leader HeinzChristian Strache said earlier in an interview with regional newspapers. He was referring to the former imperial palace that houses the president’s office.

Police put the number of protesters at 5,000-6,000 and said three arrests were made. Organizers put the turnout as high as 10,000.

France and Germany were cautious about future ties with Vienna.

“We will follow how the EU policy of Austria develops,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. “Chancellor (Sebastian) Kurz has the intention of being an active partner in Europe, and I am glad of that. We have lots of problems to solve in Europe.”

Kurz travels to Brussels on Tuesday to meet senior European officials.