Sunday’s elections saw decisive gains for the Right in Austria.
Mountain peoples, like island peoples, tend to be suspicious of foreigners, hold their traditions and history dear, and are conscious of the fragility of a confined homeland in the face of more numerous peoples and larger states. For a country like Austria, “white flight” is not feasible, and the term has no convenient German translation. Austria is too small. Besides, Austrians prefer to die in the country–even in many cases in the town or village–where they were born.
Austria was spared much of the Selbsthass (self-hatred) and political Umerziehung (“re-education”) which has characterized its West German neighbor. This is in part because Austria did not experience the radical break with a German heritage which is so obvious in West Germany; traditions are upheld in Austria by young and old. Also, Austria was historically the barrier against which the Islamic invasion of the 16th and 17th century foundered, and many Austrians are conscious and proud of that to this day. Enthusiasts of multiculturalism regard Austria with suspicion and distrust. Austrians are too obviously conscious of their identity to become reliable citizens of the world. ...
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