Sebastian Kurz, the 31-year-old politician who is likely to be Austria’s new chancellor campaigned on the slogan “Time for Something New!". The core anti-immigration policy he set for his right-wing People’s Party is, however, not new at all. It is in fact the same racist claptrap of another notorious Austrian, Adolf Hitler, who was himself only 32 when he won the leadership of Germany’s Nazi party in 1921.

Politicians who gain power by encouraging the electorate to embrace bigotry and focus on the perceived threat of outsiders are an offense to civilized society. The trend of Islamophobia and race hate in Europe continues to gather pace. National Front leader Marine Le Pen’s bid for the French presidency was only beaten off when voters of all political colors held their noses and united behind Emmanuel Macron. In Holland, Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom is now the second largest in parliament and in Germany the surge in support for the Alternatif für Deutschland rightists weakened the humane and visionary leadership of fourth-term chancellor Angela Merkel.

What is so concerning about Kurz’s success in Sunday’s election is that historically the People’s Party of which he became leader last year, has been a moderate center-right grouping. The far-right extremists were in the Freedom Party, which on Sunday Kurz beat into second place. His People’s party has some 31 percent of the vote while the Freedom Party polled 26 percent. But, to a large extent, Kurz beat the far-right by stealing its xenophobic clothes. He promised to be tough on migrants and the flow of refugees. He also pledged to abolish a wealth tax and slash other taxes along with spending.

Though the People’s Party has spent much of the last six decades in governing coalitions with the Social Democrats of Austria, there is no guarantee that Kurz, with his loud “Change” agenda will seek to renew that alliance. Many pundits believe that he will turn instead to the far-right Freedom Party founded in 1956 by a former Nazi SS officer.

Since last year, the outgoing Social Democrat and People’s Party coalition has clamped down on the flow of migrants seeking to enter the country, allowing only 80 asylum applications a day. Nor would it permit more than 3,200 refugees to pass through Austria on their way to Germany and the warm welcome that Chancellor Merkel has offered.

But it can be expected that if Kurz allies with the Freedom Party there will be further limitations on would-be migrants and the future of those who have found shelter and safety in Austria will suddenly be in doubt. The concerning truth is that if Kurz does embrace the far-right party, he will be supping with the devil and no spoon will likely be long enough to protect him. It leaked out during the election that Freedom Party chiefs had banned any anti-Semitic comments by any of its candidates and their campaign teams. A similar edict went out from Le Pen during the National Front’s hustings in France.

Just like their Nazi forebears, these neo-fascist racist and Islamophobic parties that are disfiguring modern European politics pretend to have immaculate manners but beneath this veneer lies a barbarous hatred which could lead to more Srebrenicas and to more Auschwitzs.