The Freedom Party was headed for the first far-right win in a national parliamentary election in post-World War II Austria on Sunday, finishing ahead of the governing conservatives after tapping into voters鈥 anxieties about immigration, inflation, Ukraine and other issues, a projection showed. But its chances of governing were unclear.
A projection for ORF public television, based on counting of about two-thirds of the votes, put support for the Freedom Party at 29.1 per cent and Chancellor Karl Nehammer鈥檚 Austrian People鈥檚 Party at 26.3 per cent. The centre-left Social Democrats were in third place with 21 per cent. The outgoing government 鈥 a coalition of Nehammer's party and the environmentalist Greens 鈥 lost its majority in the lower house of parliament.
Herbert Kickl, a former interior minister and longtime campaign strategist who has led the Freedom Party since 2021, wants to be chancellor.
But to become Austria鈥檚 new leader, he would need a coalition partner to command a parliamentary majority. Rivals have said they won鈥檛 work with Kickl in government.
The far right has benefited from frustration over high inflation, the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also built on worries about migration.
In its election program, titled 鈥淔ortress Austria,鈥 the Freedom Party calls for 鈥渞emigration of uninvited foreigners,鈥 for achieving a more 鈥渉omogeneous鈥 nation by tightly controlling borders and suspending the right to asylum via an emergency law.
The Freedom Party also calls for an end to sanctions against Russia, is highly critical of Western military aid to Ukraine and wants to bow out of the European Sky Shield Initiative, a missile defense project launched by Germany. Kickl has criticized 鈥渆lites鈥 in Brussels and called for some powers to be brought back from the European Union to Austria.
鈥淲e don't need to change our position, because we have always said that we're ready to lead a government, we're ready to push forward this change in Austria side by side with the people,鈥 Kickl said in an appearance alongside other party leaders on ORF. 鈥淭he other parties should ask themselves where they stand on democracy,鈥 he added, arguing that they should 鈥渟leep on the result.鈥
Nehammer said it was 鈥渂itter鈥 that his party missed out on first place, but noted that he had brought it back from lower poll ratings. He has often said that he won't form a coalition with Kickl and said that "what I said before the election, I also say after the election.鈥
More than 6.3 million people age 16 and over were eligible to vote for the new parliament in Austria, an EU member that has a policy of military neutrality.
Kickl has achieved a turnaround since Austria鈥檚 last parliamentary election in 2019. In June, the Freedom Party narrowly won a nationwide vote for the first time in the European Parliament election, which also brought gains for other European far-right parties.
Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders, whose party dominates the Netherlands' new government, congratulated the Freedom Party on social network X Sunday. So did Alice Weidel, a co-leader of the Alternative for Germany party.
The Freedom Party is a long-established force but Sunday's projected result would be its best yet in a national parliamentary election, beating the 26.9 per cent it scored in 1999.
In 2019, its support slumped to 16.2 per cent after a scandal brought down a government in which it was the junior partner. Then-vice chancellor and Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache resigned following the publication of a secretly recorded video in which he appeared to offer favors to a purported Russian investor.
The leader of the Social Democrats, a party that led many of Austria鈥檚 post-World War II governments, positioned himself as the polar opposite to Kickl. Andreas Babler ruled out governing with the far right and labeled Kickl 鈥渁 threat to democracy.鈥
While the Freedom Party has recovered, the popularity of Nehammer鈥檚 People鈥檚 Party declined sharply compared with 2019. Support for the Greens, their coalition partner, also was projected to drop to around eight per cent.
During the election campaign, Nehammer portrayed his party, which has taken a tough line on immigration in recent years, as 鈥渢he strong center鈥 that would guarantee stability amid multiple crises.
But crises ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine and resulting rising energy prices and inflation also cost it support. The government also angered many Austrians in 2022 with a short-lived coronavirus vaccine mandate, the first in Europe.
But the recent flooding caused by Storm Boris that hit Austria and other countries may have helped Nehammer slightly narrow the gap as a crisis manager.
The People鈥檚 Party is the far right鈥檚 only way into government.
Nehammer repeatedly excluded joining a government led by Kickl, describing him as a 鈥渟ecurity risk鈥 for the country, but didn't rule out a coalition with the Freedom Party in and of itself 鈥 which would imply Kickl renouncing a position in government. But that looks very unlikely with the Freedom Party in first place.
The alternative would be an alliance between the People鈥檚 Party and the Social Democrats 鈥 with or without the liberal Neos, who took about nine per cent of the vote.
Associated Press videojournalist Philipp Jenne in Vienna and reporter Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
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