Waltz and all: Far right has ball in Vienna

[Matilda]

The scene inside the opulent ballroom of Vienna's Hofburg Palace could have been lifted straight from The Sound of Music: young women in swishing dirndl dresses linked hands under chandeliers with students in traditional loden suits as they gently waltzed in formation to the rhythmic orchestral sound of Johann Strauss.

But in the streets outside the building last Friday evening, the spectacle was radically different. Phalanxes of white-helmeted Austrian riot police stood equipped with shields and truncheons.

"Nazis Piss Off, Nobody Misses You!" read one of the banners held aloft by demonstrators. Ugly scuffles ensued. One man was reported to have been arrested after being caught carrying a kilo of explosives.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/waltz-and-all-far-right-has-ball-in-vienna-6297659.html

I know there is a strong right-wing element in Austria, always has been, but there is some disturbing reading in this piece ...

[City Lights]

1. My former neighbors celebrated her 75th birthday there.

The most lunatic-fringe right-wingers I've ever personally known. He took her there for their New Year's Eve ball a few years back. I wonder how much that little birthday celebration cost. They both worked for the federal government most of their adult lives, yet came across as your typical "anti-government" types.

Disturbing article, indeed.

[CRK7376]

2. My wife and I

waltzed in Vienna years ago while on a tour. It was great, although I was a horrible waltzer. Took a dance class in college for pe that taught, waltzing, salsa, foxtrot etc...

[Blue_Tires]

3. But the far right doesn't have any balls

(punchline to old silly joke)

[supernova]

4. Makes me sad and angry

My former in-laws were workaday Viennese. No one was rich enough to afford the balls, but we had fun anyway. And I still learned to dance.

At the time (mid-late 80s) Austria was really hoping to go the Switzerland model. Being a part of the EU for economic and cultural reasons, but staying far away from anything resembling rightwing military buildups and RW resentments.

Sounds like the Burschenschaften have been taken over by fratboys.