Austria’s hard-line nationalist party wins power

Austria’s hard-line pro-nationalist party has won the general election with only 28.8 percent of the vote. 

The Freedom Party will now have a hard time finding partners to form a coalition with and begin governing. While the party has served in coalition before, the sharp-tongued leader, Herbert Kickl, has put off all other parties from extending an offer to form government with them. The 55-year-old Kickl told his supporters, ‘We have opened a door to a new era’.

The FPOe won 28.8 percent of votes, beating the ruling conservative People’s Party (OeVP) into second place on 26.3 percent, according to near-complete results. The party has seen its popularity surge fed by over-immigration, high inflation, and anger over COVID measures.

The Austrian Freedom Party’s fortunes turned around by Herbert Kickl

Kickl, who took over the scandal-tainted party in 2021 and shepherded its recovery, said he was ready to form a government with all of the other parties in parliament. ‘Our hand is outstretched in all directions,’ he said.

Support for the Austrian People’s Party (OeVP) has plummeted since their 2019 victory from 37 percent to just 28.8 percent today, paving the way for the eurosceptic Freedom Party. Kickl has pledged to return migrants to their own countries and seek a lifting of Russian sanctions.

The Greens, who were in coalition with the OeVP, were also punished in the ballot box, falling to 8.3 percent from almost 14 percent in 2019.