Comment: In the aftermath of the political assassination midway through last month that removed the Freedom Party from the Austrian government - and then the whole government itself - it's worth taking a closer look at what was going on in (and around) that country in the lead-up to it...
© Joe Klamar/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesAustria’s deputy chancellor, Heinz-Christian Strache, at a rally in Vienna in April. 3 weeks later, he was taken out in a political assassination, which Austria's security services played a central role in...
For over 12 years, she has led the anti-extremism unit of the domestic intelligence service, and recently testified in a parliamentary inquiry into whether the far right was trying to undermine her agency.
Her biggest challenge these days, her testimony suggests, is that the far right is part of her own government.
Shortly after the far-right Freedom Party joined the government 17 months ago, taking over the powerful Interior Ministry, the ministry's top official asked Ms. Geissler and her boss to turn over the names of informants who had infiltrated the far-right scene.
They refused. Just weeks later, armed police burst into her office and carted away years' worth of domestic files as well as intelligence from allied nations.
The consequences continue to reverberate through the country's politics and beyond, and have made Austria an important test of what happens when the far right moves from the political fringe to the halls of power.
Comment: Indeed, and, as we've seen, when that happens, 'allied nations' rise to the occasion and take 'executive measures'...
Comment: Indeed, they're reinforcing their network from 'contamination' by nationalists, conservatives and 'pro-Russians'.
In short, normal people!