“Twenty-five years ago, the European Union reacted with outrage at the prospect of a far-right politician, Jörg Haider, entering Austria’s government, turning the country into a virtual pariah.
This time? Crickets.
With Herbert Kickl, a right-wing hard-liner who advocates “remigration” for second- and third-generation immigrants, poised to become Austria’s next chancellor, the reaction from EU leaders so far has been to grin, bear it — and hope that Kickl won’t prove as disruptive around the EU leaders’ table as his prior positions suggest he might be.”
…
““At this point, which country doesn’t have a right-wing populist in government to reckon with?” asked the first EU diplomat. “It’s really coming down to being pragmatic and practical, not morality.””
https://www.politico.eu/article/austria-far-right-herbert-kickl-europe-populism/
“Ukraine has said it will not extend the transit agreement with Russian state-owned Gazprom in order to deprive Russia of profits that Kyiv says help to finance the war against it.
Moscow’s suspension of gas for Austria, the main receiver of gas via Ukraine, means Russia will now only supply significant gas volumes to Hungary and Slovakia, in Hungary’s case via a pipeline running mostly through Turkey. In contrast, Russia met 40% of the European Union’s gas needs before Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.”
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/austrias-omv-informed-gazprom-deliveries-150454416.html
“Austria’s continued reliance on Russian natural gas, which accounts for about 55 percent of the country’s overall consumption. Though that’s down from 80 percent at the beginning of 2022, Austria, in contrast to most other EU countries, remains dependent on Russia.
Confront an Austrian government official with this fact and you’ll be met with a lengthy whinge over how the country, one of the world’s richest, is struggling to cope with the economic crosswinds triggered by the war. That will be followed by a litany of examples of how a host of other EU countries is guilty of much more egregious behavior vis a vis Moscow.
The unspoken, if inevitable, conclusion: the real victim here is Austria.
The myth of Austrian victimhood has long been a leitmotif of the country’s bilious tabloids, which serve readers regular helpings of all the ways in which the outside world, especially Brussels and Washington, undermines them.”
…
“most Austrians only see the upsides to neutrality; yet that’s only because the West has refused to impose any costs on the country for freeriding.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/its-time-to-end-austrias-gemutlichkeit/