Austria Swears In a New Government That Includes the Far Right<br />18, 2017<br />BERLIN — A new coalition government was sworn in on Monday in Austria,<br />and for the first time in more than 10 years it includes the far-right Freedom Party, a watershed for the populist movements that unsettled European politics this year.<br />The return to power of the Freedom Party, which was founded by neo-Nazis after World War II, was concerning enough<br />that Austria’s president, Alexander Van der Bellen, took the exceptional step of eliciting several promises from the new government before he would administer the oath of office.<br />Concerns over the Freedom Party’s neo-Nazi roots and its pro-Russia stance led Mr. Van der Bellen to include several checks<br />and balances in the new coalition government agreement.<br />Mr. Kurz said although his party had to reach compromises with its far-right partners, the Freedom<br />Party, many of the key issues from his own campaign would define the new government.<br />Bellen said that A pro-European direction of the future government is central,<br />Still, Mr. Van Der Bellen took precautions to try to insulate Austria against some of the turbulence<br />that populist movements have ushered in elsewhere, including in Britain, where they catalyzed the referendum in favor of leaving the European Union.