Demonstrations against the right also in Vienna – up to 35,000 people on the streets, 42 percent less: trade volume via the Suez Canal has collapsed massively

In Austria, tens of thousands of people took part in demonstrations against the right. According to police estimates, up to 35,000 people gathered in front of the parliament building in Vienna on Friday evening. Under the motto “Defend democracy!” The participants wanted to take a stand against right-wing extremism, racism and anti-Semitism. Using their mobile phones, they created a sea of ​​light around the National Council building.

People also took to the streets in Innsbruck and Salzburg, following the example of the mass protests against right-wing extremism in Germany. The demonstrations were supported by many social and political organizations.

At the demonstrations, participants warned that the right-wing FPÖ could come into government after the parliamentary elections. The right-wing populists have been in first place in surveys since the end of 2022, well ahead of the also oppositional Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the conservative Chancellor’s Party ÖVP. The FPÖ currently has almost 30 percent of the voters behind it.

The connections between the FPÖ and the far-right identitarians have recently come into the public eye. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl described the Identitarians in 2021 as an “NGO of the right” with which there is substantive overlap. Martin Sellner, former head of the Identitarian Movement in Austria, spoke about ‘remigration’ at the recently announced meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam. By this, right-wing extremists mean that many people of foreign origin should be deported from the country.

Two weeks ago, FPÖ Secretary General Christian Hafenecker defended the AfD representatives who took part in the Potsdam meeting as “patriotic politicians.” (dabbing/sda/dpa)