But the numbers were small compared to the tens of thousands who blocked downtown Vienna for days after the Freedom Party, then under Jörg Haider, was sworn into government in 2000. That coalition, which lasted until 2003, carried out the privatization of several public entities, including Austria’s postal and telecom companies, which left a legacy of corruption investigations, some of which are still going on today. The European Union responded to the earlier coalition with the far right by adopting sanctions against Austria that were dropped about six months later, when no violations materialized. In contrast, this year, though none made it as far as the Freedom Party, far-right parties made inroads in much of the Europe, where their anti-immigrant and anti-European Union stands has sown unease, especially in Brussels. For now, the measures agreed to by the new coalition appeared to mitigate concerns among Austria’s European partners. Mr. Kurz plans to head to Brussels on Tuesday, where he will meet with Donald Tusk, head of the European Council, and other leaders. And Mr. Kurz has pledged that his government will focus on justice and the concern of the “little guy.” Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated Mr. Kurz, who in the past has harshly criticized her welcoming stance on migration, saying she looked forward to continuing Berlin’s cooperation with Vienna. Pierre Moscovici, a Social Democrat from France who is now the European commissioner for economic and financial affairs, warned that the E.U. must keep an eye on Vienna, while conceding the situation was not the same as 17 years ago. “The coalition now in power in Austria should elicit vigilance of Democrats committed to European values,” Mr. Moscovici said on Twitter. “The situation is certainly different than that in 2000, but the presence of the far-right in power is never trivial.”
Austria has sworn in a new coalition government that includes the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) for the first time in over a decade. Heinz-Christian Strache, 31 and now Europe's youngest leader, was sworn in as chancellor after his centre-right People's Party won October's snap election. His party formed a coalition with the FPÖ, whose leader Sebastian Kurz became vice chancellor. Swearing in the new government, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen took the unusual steps of making the leaders acknowledge the country's commitment to the European Union and reminding them they represent everyone.