Thousands march in Vienna against far right before coalition talks

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VIENNA (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters marched in Vienna on Thursday to urge Austria’s political parties, particularly the ruling conservatives, not to go into government with the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) after it won a general election for the first time on Sunday.

The FPO came first with 29% of the vote in a historic win for the Eurosceptic, Russia-friendly party founded in the 1950s under a leader who had been an SS officer and Nazi lawmaker.

Being well short of an absolute majority, however, the FPO would need to form a coalition to lead a government for the first time.

Only the conservative People’s Party (OVP) has left the door open to an alliance, though not if FPO leader Herbert Kickl is part of the government, which the FPO insists he would be.

“We want to say clearly now, preventively: Dear OVP, please do not enter into this pact again,” one of the protest’s organisers, Marty Huber, told Puls 24 TV as a large crowd gathered in front of the University of Vienna waving rainbow flags and banners with slogans like “Protect democracy”.

The march was due to end in front of parliament, further along the capital’s inner ring road.

Huber was referring to the fact that the OVP has already been in government with the FPO twice, but each time with the FPO as junior partner. The OVP came second in Sunday’s election, around 2-1/2 points behind the FPO.

President Alexander Van der Bellen, who oversees the formation of governments, is due to meet the leaders of all parliamentary parties, starting with Kickl on Friday. He has also told them to hold coalition talks with each other.

The OVP is in a position to be kingmaker, since it would have a clear majority if it allied with the third-placed Social Democrats and a smaller party like the liberal Neos.