Germany is developing a development that has been in Austria for 30 years. Many voters have given ir voice to a right-wing extremist party – and rest of country is clueless about how to deal with it. In Austria it was FPÖ, and in Germany today it is AfD. Germany should learn from mistakes that neighbouring country has made in dealing with Liberals.

A common explanation for strong truncation of AfD is that middle-parties – especially Angela Merkel's CDU – have not met AfD voters enough. Is union to move to right, as CSU chief Horst Seehofer is now calling for? In Austria, it was mostly case so far: if you want to regain voters from right by moving to right, right is especially useful.

Again and again, SPÖ and conservative ÖVP in last few decades have tried to bring FPOe back with this strategy voters. The result: The whole political discourse has shifted furr and furr to right. In terms of political attitudes and values, right-hand strategy has refore gone completely wrong. And from standpoint of power politics?

The FPÖ has been in surveys for years between 22 and 35 percent and would have won 2016 almost federal presidential.

At moment, though, polls predict that Foreign Minister Sebastian will soon be creating a copy of FPOe positions to chancellor. His ÖVP carries out all polls, FPÖ is far behind. It has, in fact, lost about four percentage points since takeover of power, but in case of asylum and migration policy, it has been approached so close to m that re are hardly any discernible differences. The right percentage a bit weak, but y strengn content? For a CDU that is self-and value-conscious, this can hardly be goal. And even if right-hand jerk for Sebastian briefly makes a political difference: it would be an exception.

The Red Vienna remained steadfast

Since early 1990s, almost all Austrian governments have been driving a hard line in asylum and immigration, and immigration law has been furr and furr aggravated. At same time, according to voter power analyses, with one exception for all national elections, more voters from SPÖ and ÖVP emigrated to FPÖ than vice versa.

In year 2015, four Austrian Länder chose new country days. In all lost SPÖ and ÖVP massive, FPÖ benefited. In Burgenland she gained six percentage points, in Upper Austria 15, in Styria 16. Of course, each of se election results has a whole series of reasons, but one thing stands out: in Vienna it was only five percentage points more for FPÖ. And while parties in or countries had in vain to take on FPÖ positions to harm her, Viennese SPD Mayor Michael Häupl remained in his refugee-friendly stance. Although Vienna election campaign coincided with culmination of refugee crisis, despite fact that Notquartiere were full and mood tipped, despite fact that FPÖ gave good chances to mayor in traditional red Vienna, HÄUPL was not pivoted right.

The rights need provocation

The tendency is: more politicians of people's Parties in Austria have talked about right to mouth, more voters y have lost to FPÖ. The substantive self-task of middle parties usually does not even lead to electoral success. This has two main reasons.

First, demands of right-wing parties are not rigid and immutable. If AfD today sets up claim X, se claims are met by a center party – n AfD will not dissolve into air or change itself to constructive government party. It will call X 1 instead. Then "upper Limit" is just "minus-immigration". This also applies to left-wing parties – but even more so for rights because y live on provocation. If a claim no longer provokes, it must be a starker one.

Secondly, attitudes of electorate are not rigid and immutable. The attitude of people is shaped by political discourse. If media and politics constantly discuss issues and demands of rights, n y also set mselves in minds of people, become relevant to m.

And if or parties take over or even implement any claim of rights at some point, y do m a favor – y thus substantiate assertion of right that y are first to utter unpleasant truths. The FPÖ is currently promoting its chief Heinz-Christian Strache as a migration policy "thinker" in demarcation to "late Detonator" Sebastian Kurz – quite rightly so. "It needs a doer, not a doer," says Strache. Many of those AfD voters who want to woo Seehofer Co Now will probably think that.

Date Of Update: 12 October 2017, 12:06