Protests in Romania, Stirrings in Austria Reinforce a Political Sea Change Emerging Across Europe

To the rightist tilt waxing in mainstream European politics there is more going on than Elon Musk’s renewed interest in the affairs of Germany.The endorsement of the AfD party by the world’s richest man may be causing many Germans to cry election meddling, but developments in nearby Austria and also Romania underscore how political climate change in Germany is now a broadly European phenomenon. In Austria, the 56-year-old leader of the rightist Freedom Party, Herbert Kickl, has been tasked by the country’s president to form a new coalition in the government. Herr Kickl advocates the “remigration of uninvited strangers.”His anti-immigration, openly Eurosceptic party won Austria’s parliamentary election in September. Although it was initially shunned by other parties, the event marks a seismic shift. The outgoing chancellor, Karl Nehammer, who announced his resignation on Saturday, once described Mr. Kickl as a “security risk.”Until last week Herr Nehammer had refused to work with the Freedom Party. Mr. Kickl, for his part, has previously referred to the 80-year-old Mr. Nehammer as “a mummy” and “senile.” Now, the mandate is on the table to form what looks likely to become the first national government since World War II to be led by the far right.Despite that, the interim head of the conservative Austria’s People’s Party, Christian Stocker, said during the election campaign that anyone voting for Mr. Kickl “is voting for five years of high risk with radical ideas.” Mr. Kickl likely could lose; he needs a few more weeks to secure necessary votes. Yet his odds of becoming the next chancellor, though negotiations are still delicate, are now greatly increased. What would a rightist government at Vienna look like? In the Freedom Party’s manifesto are proposals to re-evaluate Austria’s contribution to the EU budget, undo the so-called Green Deal, and possibly reassess the bloc’s “irresponsible” sanctions on Russia.Mr. Kickl’s party is part of the populist Patriots for Europe alliance in the European parliament, which also includes the parties of Prime Minister Orban in Hungary and the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders, whose party now dominates that country’s government.There is also the curious case of its eastern neighbor, Romania, which is now experiencing major spasms of rightward-leaning politics. At Bucharest on Sunday, tens of thousands of Romanians protested against a top court’s decision last month to annul the presidential election after an outsider candidate unexpectedly emerged as the frontrunner.Many of the demonstrators at Bucharest honked horns and waved Romania’s blue, yellow, and red flags, while others brandished placards bearing slogans such as “Democracy is not optional” and “We want free elections.” Many also demanded the resumption of the presidential race from the second round.The protest came just a month after the constitutional court made the unprecedented move to annul the election only two days before a December 8 runoff. The rightist Calin Georgescu won the first round on November 24, amid allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference in the election process. It was the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, George Simion, who organized the demonstration. Mr Simion stated on Sunday: “We are protesting against the coup d’état that took place on Dec. 6. We are sorry to discover so late that we were living in a lie and that we were led by people who claimed to be democrats, but are not at all.” He is demanding “a return to democracy through the resumption of elections, starting with the second round.”The canceled presidential race last month plunged the European Union and the NATO member country into turmoil, which included a recount of first-round votes. New dates have been set to re-run the vote, with the first round scheduled for May 4. If no candidate obtains more than half of the ballot, a runoff would be held two weeks later, on May 18. It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Georgescu will be able to participate in the new election.By that time, Germans will have gone to vote in a national election, slated for February 23. Austria is all but certain to have a new, resolutely Eurosceptic and anti-immigrant government before winter’s end. The shifts taking place in the heart of Europe will have the knock-on effect of emboldening the rightist parties on Europe’s eastern flank, even as they generate more friction with the bureaucratic establishment at Brussels. In the background, of course, are the longstanding tensions between Washington and Moscow — of which, in 2025, Ukraine can no longer be seen as the only source.

Protests in Romania, Stirrings in Austria Reinforce a Political Sea Change Emerging Across Europe

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