| Series Title | The Local.at |
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| Series Details | 29.09.17 |
| Publication Date | 29/09/2017 |
| Content Type | News |
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Background Among the agreed policies, the government was scheduled to propose the introduction of a ban on the Muslim face veil in public places. This agreement was seen as a way to appease right-wing voters and to avoid a snap parliamentary election, at a moment in which the radical right party led in opinion polls. However, Austria's ruling coalition between the social democratic SPÖ [SPOe] and conservative ÖVP was plunged into a crisis by the resignation of ÖVP (Austrian People's Party's) vice chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner on the 10 May 2017. Austria foreign minister and fellow ÖVP member Sebastian Kurz said on the 12 May 2017 that 'I believe early elections are the right way forward'. It was expected that Reinhold Mitterlehner would also resign as leader of the ÖVP and be replaced by Sebastian Kurz. Sebastian Kurz was elected to be the acting leader of the Austrian Peoples Party on the 14 May 2017 and said that an autumn 2017 election was likely. Christian Kern, the incumbent Chancellor of Austria and chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), admitted on the 14 May 2017 that the governing coalition with the ÖVP had shattered and that an election was inevitable. On the 16 May 2017 party chiefs of the major parties agreed on the 15 October 2017 as the date for the general election in Austria. In parallel the outgoing government of Chancellor Christian Kern had introduced the legislative proposal banning the wearing of the full Islamic veil and other items concealing the face in public places and buildings. The Austrian parliament agreed on the integration legislative package in May 2017. Sebastian Kurz was formally elected leader of the Austrian People’s Party on the 1 July 2017 at a party convention in Linz. He announced that in the forthcoming general election he would campaign under the banner of a new name, the Sebastian Kurz list. In several European countries, measures against face-veils worn by some Muslim women had been discussed for a decade. In July 2011 the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights had strongly criticised recently adopted French and Belgian legislation targeting the burqa. He talked of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim prejudices continuing to undermine tolerance in Europe.New restrictions came into force in Austria on the 1 October 2017 banning the wearing of the full Islamic veil and other items concealing the face in public places and buildings. The law banned Muslim veils such as the burka or niqab, but also placed restrictions on the use of medical face masks and clown makeup. The government claimed that the new rules were aimed at 'ensuring the cohesion of society in an open society'. Other measures which would apply from 1 October 2017 included immigrants signing an 'integration contract' and compulsory courses in the German language and 'values'. The measures introduced in Austria were similar to those introduced in other European Union countries such as Belgium and France. The Netherlands was debating similar restrictions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel had also suggested that such a law was required in Germany. |
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| Source Link | https://www.thelocal.at/20170929/austria-moves-to-ban-the-burqa |
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| Countries / Regions | Austria |
