Austrian chancellor gambles on far right's populist tactics

Four months after he took over a coalition government stunned by the far-right Freedom Party's electoral success, Austria's new chancellor has taken a populist turn, adopting positions remarkably close to those of his anti-immigration rivals.
But Christian Kern's new tactics, on Turkey joining the European Union and a trade deal with Canada, have yet to erode the Freedom Party's lead in opinion polls. And trying to beat the anti-immigration party at its own game could backfire.
"He is trying to cast out the FPO demon by using Beelzebub, to put it biblically," said political... read more