Thousands of people protested in Austria’s capital, Vienna, against a possible return to power for the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which topped national elections on Sunday.
The FPOe won almost 29% of the vote in Sunday’s general election, ahead of the conservative People’s Party (OeVP) with just over 26%.
“The Austrian Freedom Party is a danger because it has already said that it wants to govern in the image of Hungary’s Viktor Orban,” said student Rihab Toumi, 26, referring to the nationalist leader of Austria’s neighboring country
Although the FPOe topped the polls, there is no guarantee that its radical leader, Herbert Kickl, will be given a chance to form a government since no other party is willing to work with him.
“This result was a shock, and we cannot let a party that drifts so far to the right garner so much support without saying anything,” said social worker Marianne, 53, who declined to share her surname.
Organizers said there were 15,000 to 17,000 protesters in central Vienna who marched toward parliament. Demonstrators held up placards that said, “Let’s defend democracy,” “No alliances with Putin’s friends,” and other anti-FPOe slogans.
Kickl has criticized European Union sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Demonstrators intend to march every Thursday, having similarly done so after the far-right formed part of short-lived coalition governments in 2000 and 2017.
