Austria’s far-right Freedom Party expected to win elections | News

A victory for Herbert Kickl’s party would make Austria the last EU country to record growing support for the far right.

Austria’s Freedom Party (FPO) is expected to finish first in the country’s general election, ahead of the ruling conservatives, reflecting growing support for far-right parties in Europe driven by concerns over immigration levels .

According to an exit poll carried out on Sunday by the Foresight research institute for the ORF channel, Herbert Kickl’s FPO obtained 29.1 percent of the vote, the Austrian People’s Party (OVP) of Chancellor Karl Nehammer coming in second with 26.2 percent.

The center-left Social Democrats (SDP) are expected to come third, with 20.4 percent.

According to a separate projection by the Arge Wahlen survey institute, the FPO would also come out on top, with a victory of around four percentage points, a larger margin of victory than indicated by the final poll.

The screenings were met with applause from jubilant party staff and supporters at an FPO event in the capital, Vienna.

Kickl, a former interior minister who has led the FPÖ since 2021, is seeking to become Austria’s new chancellor after the far-right’s first victory in national elections in the country since World War II.

However, the 55-year-old would need a coalition partner to secure a majority in the lower house of Parliament – and his rivals have said they will not work with him.

The FPÖ is ready to talk with all parties with a view to forming a government, Kickl told national broadcaster ORF after the projections were published.

Speaking alongside other party leaders, Kickl said other parties should reconsider their refusal to form a coalition with him.

The ÖVP, which like the FPÖ supports stricter immigration rules and tax cuts, is the only party willing to form a coalition with the far-right party – but without Kickl.

In his first remarks after the election, Nehammer said he maintained his refusal to form a government including the FPÖ leader.

Concerns about the country’s economy and immigration dominated the campaign period in the run-up to the elections and largely dissipated the ÖVP’s votes.

Nazi roots

Al Jazeera’s Aida Duratovic, reporting from Vienna, said the ÖVP and SDP were previously in power with the FPÖ, but they do not want to repeat that situation this time.

She said many people in Austria believe the FPÖ is controversial because of its Nazi origins.

“Their founder was an SS officer and a Nazi minister,” she said, adding that some in Austria do not believe the party has completely broken away from its Nazi roots.

“Herbert Kickl calls himself the ‘people’s chancellor’, a term Adolf Hitler used to describe himself,” Duratovic added.

An FPO victory would make Austria the last European Union country to record growing support for the far right after gains in countries including the Netherlands, France and Germany.

The eurosceptic party – which criticizes Islam, maintains close ties with Russia and promises stricter rules for asylum seekers – won a national vote for the first time in June by defeating the ÖVP in less than a percentage point in the European elections.

President Alexander Van der Bellen, who oversees the formation of governments, has expressed reservations about the FPÖ due to its criticism of the EU and its failure to condemn the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

The party opposes EU sanctions against Moscow, citing Austria’s neutrality.

The president has hinted he might thwart Kickl, saying the constitution does not require him to ask the winning party to form a government, even though that has long been the convention.