Waltz and all: Far right has ball in Vienna [View all]

[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 ...