Far-right Freedom Party (FPO) emerged victorious in Austria’s general election, according to vote projections, adding to the growing support for hard-right parties across Europe.
The Russia-friendly and Eurosceptic FPO, led by Herbert Kickl, maintained a narrow lead in opinion polls for months, surpassing Chancellor Karl Nehammer‘s ruling conservative Austrian People’s Party (OVP) in a campaign focused on immigration and economic concerns.
Foresight, a pollster for broadcaster ORF, projected the FPO to secure 29.1% of the vote, followed by the OVP at 26.2% and the centre-left Social Democrats at 20.4%.
Kickl, a former interior minister and longtime campaign strategist who has led the Freedom Party since 2021, aspires to become chancellor. However, to assume the role of Austria’s new leader, he would require a coalition partner to secure a parliamentary majority, which may prove challenging as rivals have expressed unwillingness to collaborate with Kickl in government.
The far right’s success can be attributed to the public’s frustration over high inflation, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic, and growing concerns about migration.
The Freedom Party’s election program, titled “Fortress Austria,” advocates for the “remigration of uninvited foreigners,” tighter border controls, and the suspension of the right to asylum through an emergency law to achieve a more “homogeneous” nation.
Furthermore, the Freedom Party calls for the termination of sanctions against Russia, expresses strong criticism of Western military aid to Ukraine, and seeks to withdraw from the European Sky Shield Initiative, a missile defense project initiated by Germany.