Populist right anti-immigration party now likely to lead Austrian gov't | Eastern NC Now

Efforts by Austria's president, who hails from the leftwing Green Party, to freeze the populist nationalist anti-immigration Freedom Party out of government after it won the parliamentary election have failed.  After three months, the president has finally designated the Freedom Party leader to try to form a coalition.  The president had first tried to get the traditional conservative Peoples Party, which ran second in the election to try to form a coalition but that failed.

All of these machinations have led to a change in leadership of the Peoples Party, which is now receptive to joining a right of center coaltition led by the Freedom Party.  This is a natural fit as both parties take similar positions on a wide range of issues including fighting against illegal immigration.  Talks are underway to flesh out such a coalition.  The Freedom Party has been a junior partner in a previous national coaltion led by the Peoples Party and currently the two parties are in coalition in four provincial governments within the country.

https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/austrias-populist-election-winners-finally-get-to-form-government/

This development will add more pressure on Germany's Christian Democrats to form a right of center coalition with the populist right Alternativ fur Deutschland (AfD) after their February election.  Austria will make three countries that border Germany  where populist nationalist anti-immigration parties are in governing coaltions, including the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands and the Swiss Peoples Party in Switzerland.  The populist nationalist anti-immigration Law and Justice Party also holds the presidency in Germany's neighbor Poland.

In Germany's election, while government funded TV networks are refusing to let the populist naitonalist AfD participate in TV debates, Elon Musk has stepped in to conduct an online discussion with AfD Chancellor candidate Alice Weidel.  The EU bosses are fuming over that.

https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/brussels-threatens-afd-and-musk-ahead-of-live-x-conversation/