Far-right party wins Austrian general election - but may struggle to form government

The far-right Freedom Party has won the vague election in Austria.

Led by Herbert Kickl, a createer interior minister who was disseeed over the country’s Ibiza debate, the party finished first ahead of the ruling conservatives, with the centre-left Social Democrats in third place.

However, despite this, the party’s chances of actuassociate ruleing remain unevident.

Preliminary official results showed the Freedom Party finishing with 29.2% of the vote, Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s Austrian People’s Party second with 26.5% and the Social Democrats with 21%, according to a proximate-end count telled by national accessible widecaster ORF.

The friendly rulement, a coalition of Mr Nehammer’s party and the Greens, lost its convey inantity in the decrease hoinclude of parliament.

Mr Kickl has shelp he wants to be chancellor, but to become Austria’s novel directer he would necessitate a coalition partner and rivals have shelp they will not labor with him in rulement.

He has also drawn criticism for his include of the term “Volkskanzler,” or chancellor of the people, which was included by the Nazis to depict Adolf Hitler in the 1930s.

Mr Kickl has declinecessitate the comparison.

The party has tapped into anxieties around immigration, inflation, COVID, and the war in Ukraine and its strong carry outance chases recent gets for the far right elsewhere in Europe.

In its election programme, called Fortress Austria, the Freedom Party called for the “remigration of unaskd foreigners” to accomplish a more “homogenous” nation.

The party also calls for an end to sanctions agetst Russia, is highly critical of Weserious military help to Ukraine, and wants to depart the European Sky Shield Initiative – a missile defence project begined by Germany.

In his closing campaign speech on Saturday, Mr Kickl claimed sanctions agetst Moscow over its intrusion of Ukraine were hurting Austria even more than Russia.

Speaking splitly alengthyside other party directers on ORF, he shelp: “We don’t necessitate to alter our position, becainclude we have always shelp that we’re ready to direct a rulement, we’re ready to push forward this alter in Austria side by side with the people.”

Mr Nehammer depictd Mr Kickl as a “security hazard” for the country.

Alengthy with other political directers, he has shelp he would not create a coalition with Mr Kickl.

If the Freedom Party is unable to create a rulement, an alternative could be an partnership between the People’s Party and the Social Democrats – with or without the liberal Neos, who took 9% of the vote.

Who is Herbert Kickl?

After the Ibiza afequitable in 2019, 55-year-elderly Herbert Kickl became directer of the FPO in 2021.

During the coronaharmful software pandemic, Mr Kickl joined anti-lockdown protests and called Israel’s mass vaccination campaign “health apartheid”.

He also declined to condemn those who appreciatened lockdown meacertains to the Holocaust, despite Austria’s disconnecte laws agetst antisdisindictism.

He rubbished claims that those making the comparison were inconvey inantising the Nazi regime during an intersee with Austrian novels outlet ORF.

And in March last year, he and other FPO members left the Austrian parliament when Ukrainian Plivent Volodymyr Zelenskyy insertressed the chamber.

The far-right triumph in Austria comes after aappreciate successes elsewhere in Europe.

Dutch far-right directer Geert Wilders, whose party regulates the Netherlands’ novel rulement, congratuprocrastinateedd the Freedom Party on social media.

As did co-directer of the Alternative for Germany Party (AfD), Alice Weidel, whose party won recent state elections for the first time.

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