Austria’s far-right party is on track to win its first-ever general.
The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) was founded by a group of former Nazis after WWII.
The FPÖ received almost 30% of the vote after a national election on the weekend.
However, it doesn’t have enough votes to govern as a majority.
In the lead-up to the election, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl spoke about becoming “Volkskanzler” — a term associated with Hitler, meaning “people’s chancellor”.
Freedom Party
A group of former Nazis established the FPÖ in 1956. Despite its origins, the party denies it holds any Nazi ideologies today.
The right-wing party’s popularity began to increase after it appointed a new leader in 1986, Jörg Haider — the son of former Nazi party members.
In recent years, the FPÖ has become known for hardline immigration policies, and its pro-Russia and anti-Islam stances.
Austria holds a national election every five years to determine the makeup of its lower house.
Ahead of Sunday’s vote, the Austrian Parliament was led by Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s centre-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP).
In the lead-up to the election, the FPÖ criticised ÖVP’s handling of COVID-19 and cost-of-living pressures.
The far-right party in Australia has platformed its hard-line anti-immigration and tax-relief policies as an alternative to the People’s Party this election.
Policies
The FPÖ vowed to strengthen border control and introduce stricter asylum laws.
It campaigned under its “Fortress Austria” proposal — an election promise to remove “uninvited foreigners,” to create a more “homogeneous” nation.
The party has also criticised continued funding for Ukraine.
Results
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The FPÖ finished Sunday’s election with— making it the most popular party in Austria for the first time. It’s also the first time a far-right party has won an Austrian election since WWII.
The current ruling party, the ÖVP, lost its majority after securing 26.5% of the vote. The centre-left Social Democrat party came in third with 21%.
However, the FPÖ is not expected to win enough of Austria’s 186 seats to form a majority Government.
Kickl
55-year-old Kickl has represented the party since 2006 and became its leader in 2021. Kickl said he will seek to form a coalition with minority parties.
However, the future of the party and Kickl’s leadership remain uncertain after several political groups ruled out working with the far-right leader.
The leader of the centre-left Social Democrat Party Andreas Babler warned that a “democratic state cannot be created with such a party,” and that it’s up to the fellow parties to “prevent an FPÖ chancellorship.”
The People’s Party
ÖVP Secretary-General Christian Stocker told voters his party “would not enter into a government with Herber Kickl.”
Outgoing Chancellor Karl Nehammer thanked voters as he conceded his party’s loss.
The ÖVP leader promised that “even after the election, we will stand by what we promised our voters beforehand.”
Far-right surge
In a post to social media, French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said she was “delighted” with FPÖ victory.
She called the election result “a triumph of the [Austrian] peoples.“
It follows a recent global trend towards right-wing parties.
In November, far-right leaders took power in Argentina and the Netherlands within days of each other.
Far-right parties also performed strongly in the European Union (EU) elections in June.
