He likes Nazi symbols and lauds SS – and voters adore him for it (Austria 9/29/08)

[Duncan Grant]

29 September 2008
<snip>

AUSTRIA has once again lurched to the right in a national election that saw sweeping gains for extreme politics.
Although the socialists took the biggest chunk of the poll yesterday, the far-right parties combined garnered nearly a third of votes. The big winner was Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the Freedom Party – a man who wants to legalise Nazi symbols and in the past has organised ceremonies to honour SS veterans.

The Freedom Party won about 18 per cent and the Alliance for the Future 11 per cent, a combined total of 29 per cent. In 1999, the Freedom Party, under the leadership of Jörg Haider who formed the breakaway Alliance for the Future in 2005, took 26 per cent before slumping to just 10 per cent in 2002 and 15 per cent in 2006. The biggest rebound came from Alliance for the Future, which gained 8 percentage points since 2006.

In total, 183 seats in parliament are up for grabs.

The far right's showing heralded political instability in the republic since the two main centrist parties will be hard put to re-establish a broad coalition even if they resolve the feuds that killed off their last one.
<snip>

More...

I'm posting for those of us who follow the news about the extreme right. Today's San Francisco Examiner also has coverage of this story.

[sellitman]

1. The dude looks like John Boehner N/T

[Duncan Grant]

4. He does look like Boehner but without the standard Republican hair-do.

Both are charming guys, I'm sure.

[Bluebear]

10. And the perpertual Man Tan

[kenny blankenship]

2. The only country to vote to join the Nazi Reich

Something to ponder while watching The Sound of Music.

[Duncan Grant]

5. Looks like extremists can carve a profitable niche in a modern society, too.

Not that that's news to anyone here.

[kenny blankenship]

7. Modern, fresh faced and X-treme! I can't tell from a photo like that whether Strache

is plugging the purity of Ivory soap for the Xtreme sports lifestyle of well scrubbed boys, or the purity of the White race.

[ColbertWatcher]

3. I thought you were going to talk about the GOP's Great Aryan Hope in California ...

[Duncan Grant]

6. Nah, our home grown Jesus extremists would never tolerate someone as moderate as Arnold.

Arnold isn't supporting Proposition 8 so the right-wing has written him off permanently.

(Jeez, gravity is cruel.)

[ColbertWatcher]

8. To consider Arnold "moderate" is to really be out of the mainstream. n/t

[Stellabella]

9. There's nothing more pathetic than white males who are

unsuccessful and blame it on minorities. Nothing.

Pathetic little creeps.

[bumblebee1]

11. Holy crap!!!

Those young men in the background look like overgrown Hitler Youth.