THE PROSPECT of Herbert Kickl, the leader of the hard-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), running Austria alarms centrists in the Alpine republic and its European neighbours. Paul Lendvai, a prominent Austrian journalist, predicted in Der Standard, a daily, that the country will become “a fortress dominated by far-right politicians”. Other commentators fret that Mr Kickl’s views contradict the values of human rights, the rule of law and media freedom that the EU stands for.