Sebastian Kurz is flirting with the far-right Freedom Party

SEBASTIAN KURZ has a problem. On October 15th Austria’s 31-year-old foreign minister scored an impressive election victory, somehow presenting himself as a credible messenger of change even though his centre-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) has been in office for 30 years. His energy and charisma kept the Freedom Party (FPÖ), a far-right outfit with neo-Nazi roots, from running the country; it had led in the polls for two years before Mr Kurz took over as chairman of the ÖVP in May. But to govern Mr Kurz needs a coalition partner, and the FPÖ, which came third in the election, is his first choice. Now Europe is left wondering whether Austria’s political whizz kid is fending off a populist uprising, or preparing to lead it.

Mr Kurz spoke to your columnist this week. He was fresh from a day spent discussing the vagaries of coalition politics with Austria’s president, and taking a congratulatory call from France’s Emmanuel Macron. Should he become chancellor, Mr Kurz will be the world’s youngest head of government (Kim Jong-Un has three years on him). Older readers who fear a decline in decorum among millennials should be reassured. Charlemagne was greeted with the greatest of courtesy and thanked profusely for finding time to visit Vienna; afterwards he was walked personally to the ministry’s exit and seen off with a formal bow.