Election in Vienna Sunday; The rise of the far right

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSRISKAT20101001?type=marketsNews

THE RISE OF THE FAR RIGHT

The rightist Freedom Party still thrives on voter discontent over immigration, austerity measures and crime scares and is a lingering threat to the stability of the awkward coalition of the two mainstream parties.

Freedom, then led by the late Joerg Haider, helped govern Austria in a coalition led by the conservatives from 2000 to 2007. Their inclusion sparked outrage at home and abroad and triggered a brief period of European Union sanctions.

Freedom has radicalised under new leader Heinz-Christian Strache after the ideologically flexible Haider broke away in 2005 and left behind a more determined rightist residue.

They would also have to weigh up the benefits of such a coalition against the reputational risk of Freedom's shrill anti-European Union and anti-Muslim rhetoric, its general volatility and its lack of executive experience.