After hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Germany last week to protest against the far right and racism, large demonstrations have now also been held in Austria. Organizers say 80,000 people turned out in Vienna, but police put it at 35,000.
The protests in Germany arose after revelations about a meeting in Potsdam, where mass deportations were allegedly discussed and attended, among others, by politicians from the far-right Alternative for Germany.
Also present was Austrian extremist Martin Sellner, leader of the Identitäre Bewegung Österreich, a club of people who believe that the white race is superior to other races. He is a supporter of the population theory, a conspiracy theory that assumes that migrants are coming to Europe en masse to replace the white race. He said he promoted his book on “remigration” at the meeting in Potsdam.
FPÖ
The demonstrators in Austria are mainly targeting the FPÖ, a far-right party that is doing well in the polls and could even become the largest in the parliamentary elections in the fall. Party leader Herbert Kickl is known for his fierce stances against migrants. The people who came to the protests say they are worried about the future of Austria if the FPÖ comes to power.
In Innsbruck and Salzburg, 3,000 and 1,400 people respectively marched against the extreme right on Friday. There were also new demonstrations in Germany on Friday, including in Frankfurt, Saarbrücken and Herne.
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