POLL: Majority of Austrians Fear Migrant Crisis, Support Strong Anti-Migrant Action

Eighty-four per cent of Austrians support closing Europe’s external borders, and a strong majority are fearful of the knock-on effects of the migrant crisis, a new opinion poll has revealed.

The poll, commissioned by a national newspaper, has laid bare the hardening opinion of ordinary Austrians in the face of the rapidly developing migrant crisis. The wide-ranging polling conducted by Unique Research on behalf of the Austrian Heute found 60 per cent of Austrians either wanted to reduce the flow of migration to their country, or stop it altogether.

The same proportion — 60 per cent — said they were feeling concern and discomfort about the number of migrants coming to Austria. Only eight per cent thought Austria should take more migrants.

The most common concern among Austrians about the problems that mass migration brought with it was negative affects on the labour market. with 36 per cent citing this. Also worrying Austrians was the impact of migrants on the state of public finances, the Austrian way of life, and the cost of housing.

When asked which anti-migrant action they approved of the government taking, the Austrians polled were in favour of keeping migrants as far away from their own borders as possible, while hoping to preserve their own liberties.

European Union border control was by far the most popular solution to the migrant crisis, with 84 per cent thinking it a good idea, followed by rapid return of illegals to their places of origin, at 77 per cent.

Also popular was border transit zones, an initiative already compared to Nazi “concentration camps” by a leading German liberal bishop, which had the support of 76 per cent. Over half said they wanted a return to border controls with neighbours as in the pre European-Union world.

This poll compliments another remarkable set of results on Austrian public opinion as reported on by Breitbart London in February, when 69 per cent said Islam didn’t belong in Austria.

Of that, a sizeable minority held an even stronger view, with four in ten saying there should “definitely” be no Islam in Austria, and that Islam is a threat to the country.

Follow Oliver Lane on Twitter: Follow @Oliver_Lane or e-mail to: olane@breitbart.com