Make Austria Great Again: The rapid rise of Sebastian Kurz

The conservative party that 31-year-old Sebastian Kurz has reshaped in his own image is polling in first place ahead of Austria's national vote in October. A look at the country's unprecedented election.

Flying under the radar as Western politics grapples with Brexit negotiations, an unpredictable White House and Germany's national vote in September , there is something nevertheless strange and noteworthy afoot in Austria as it approaches its own elections on October 15.

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"He sees himself more as a conservative Emmanuel Macron or Justin Trudeau," Filzmaier said. "He hasn't started his own party like Macron, but he has tried to make his changes in the ÖVP look like a new movement. And it's working. Before he took over party leadership in the spring, the ÖVP was lagging in third place at 20 percent in the polls. Now, it's in first place at over 30 percent."

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ChezC3 said:

Make Austria Great Again: The rapid rise of Sebastian Kurz | Europe | DW | 31.08.2017


A wunderkind who actually might be worth a damn?

An ardent Pro-EU'er, I don't know... but he's young enough to still tilt further in the right direction...

Perhaps an ÖVP/FPÖ coalition with this fresh face countering that of the Macron/Trudeau types is precisely what is needed...

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joG said:

He is sparkly bright, but doubt he could have freed himself of the Greater Eu paradigm. It is possible, but probably he is not so much different from the Bavarian Minister Präsident.

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ChezC3 said:

It isn't so much to be opposed to the EU in principle, I'm not opposed to it in principle, but only in its current form and implementation. If he keeps it up and stays as popular as Horst has , he could accomplish much.

I appreciate what I've seen so far as it regards his efforts for refugee integration.

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