Austrian leader vows zero tolerance on anti-Semitism

Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said his conservative-far right coalition will deliver a “comeback” for his country by respecting the principles of “respect, decency and common sense”.

The 31-year-old leader is Austria’s youngest ever and, in his inaugural speech to parliament, reiterated Austria’s commitment to the European Union and to fight against “existing anti-Semitism and the newly-imported kind”.

The People’s Party (ÖVP) leader’s remarks were a clear nod to the Eurosceptic and anti-Semitic tradition of his coalition partner, the Freedom Party (FPÖ).

“Anti-Semitism has no place in Austria or Europe,” he said, a day after Israel said it would not deal directly with FPÖ ministers.

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On his first visit to Brussels on Tuesday evening, Mr Kurz said he hoped he could meet Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu soon to “dispel concerns that exist regarding the FPÖ government members”.

Anti-Semitism has a long tradition in the FPÖ, which was founded by ex-Nazis in 1955, although leader Heinz-Christian Strache, now Austria’s vice-chancellor, insists his party has moved on.

But the European Jewish Congress (EJC) and Austrian Jewish groups are wary of the FPÖ’s new interest in defending Jews against anti-Semitic attitudes among recent arrivals in the refugee crisis. They suggest the party has made a politically opportune policy switch from anti-Semitism to Islamophobia.

“The Freedom Party cannot use the Jewish community as a fig leaf,” said the EJC, “and must show tolerance and acceptance towards all communities and minorities”.

Migration and security

Mr Kurz won Austria’s October federal election with a programme critics say borrowed heavily from FPÖ policies on migration and security. These have been hot button issues in Austria for years, even before Austria found itself on the front line of the 2015-16 asylum influx.

In his inaugural parliamentary address as chancellor, Mr Kurz said there were “no surprises” in his programme for government and he would deliver on election promises of tax cuts, greater security, welfare boosts and an asylum crackdown.

His promise to voters has been to shake up the country through radical change in political style and policy. “Change creates hope, sometimes friction and, in some quarters, insecurity ... but change cannot be halted,” he said.

He vowed to be a force of change for a “strong Europe” too, in particular on the stand-off over who should take how many asylum seekers.

As foreign minister Mr Kurz blocked a popular migration route though the Balkans and, now as chancellor, he insisted the refugee crisis would not be resolved by redistributing new arrivals throughout the continent.

Instead he promised to be a “bridge-builder” between western Europe and central European countries who have refused to take any refugees. Mr Kurz added: “We have to secure our outer borders and decide who is allowed come to Europe, not the traffickers.”