Big gains for the anti-jihad, anti-EU right in Austria

The Independent reports:

The Freedom Party, led by Heinz-Christian Strache, gained more than 18 per cent of the vote—nearly doubling its share of support—after running a vitriolic campaign against “foreign criminals” and “asylum cheats” and pledging to take Austria out of the EU.

Meanwhile the party of Jorg Haider, who split from the Freedom party three years ago and formed a new party, almost tripled its share of the vote from 4 percent to 11.5 percent. The two right-wing parties thus total 29.5 percent of the vote, and will probably be part of a ruling coalition.

Jeremy G., who sent the item, adds:

Here is Melanie Phillips condemning the nationalists in Austria as “neo-Nazi” (where is the evidence?) and in other European countries as “noxious” in accordance with her never ending fantasy that her fellow liberals will reverse themselves and take a stand against the Islamization of Europe. When she condemns the only force that is presently capable of defending Europe, she sounds just like Charles Johnson from Little Green Footballs. To their unmitigated horror, Phillips and Johnson find that Europe’s nationalists will not only defend Europe from Islam, but in the process of doing so will oust from power the liberals who have welcomed Muslims in.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at September 29, 2008 01:27 PM | Send