Austria: European hard-right parties celebrate FPO election victory
VIENNA – The far-right Freedom party (FPO) was declared winner on Sunday, according to the preliminary results of Austria’s parliamentary elections, a victory that was hailed by hard-right parties across Europe.
Led by the 55-year-old Herbert Kickl, the FPO secured 28.8% of the vote, ahead of the OVP on 26.3% and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPO) on 21.1%.
Seven decades after its foundation in the 1950s under the leadership of a former Nazi lawmaker, Kickl celebrated the FPO’s victory, saying, “We’ve made Austrian history because it’s the first time the Freedom Party is Number 1 in a parliamentary election, and you have to think how far we’ve come.”
The Eurosceptic FPO and the ruling conservative Austrian People’s Party (OVP) have been neck and neck in opinion polls for months, with campaigns focused on the immigration file and worries about the economy.
The party has been working to moderate its image and broaden its appeal, but Kickl’s provocative and polarising opinions made him roundly disliked by the other party leaders, who immediately united in rejecting to form a coalition with him.
If Kickl fails to secure an alliance with another party, the FPO’s chances of forming a government could diminish, thereby paving the way for a coalition of more moderate parties.
While the OVP has indicated some willingness to collaborate with the FPO, its leader Karl Nehammer ruled out working with Kickl, who has shown no intention of stepping aside.
Meanwhile, current seat projections suggest that the OVP and SPO could achieve a majority on their own, a scenario that had previously seemed unlikely.
