Austria's rightward shift puts immigration in crosshairs

Head of Freedom Party (FPOe) Herbert Kickl attends a television debate, after the first exit polls during the general election, in Vienna, Austria, September 29, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner

VIENNA (Reuters) - Picknicking with friends in the park after prayers at a Vienna mosque, Saima Arab, a 20-year-old pedicurist originally from Afghanistan, is thankful for her freedoms in Austria.

"We could never do this in Afghanistan, never cook, go out, just sit in public like this", said Arab, who came to Austria in 2017. "Home is like a prison there."