The three candidates vying for power in the Austrian election | National

In the Austrian National Council election on Sunday, a combative right-wing extremist marathon runner will face a mild-mannered chancellor and a left-wing former warehouse worker.

In a campaign dominated by immigration concerns and an economic downturn, polls put the far right ahead for the first time ever – closely followed by the ruling Conservatives and the Social Democrats in third place.

Here you will find short biographies of the three party leaders.

– Abrasive right-wing extremist leader –

Herbert Kickl, 55, the aggressive leader of the right-wing extremist Freedom Party (FPÖ) since 2021, has made his career largely behind the scenes as a long-time ideologue.

By tapping into voter anger and fears of restrictions during the Covid pandemic, migration and war in Ukraine, Kickl managed to restore his party’s popularity after it was rocked by a massive corruption scandal in 2019.

An avid marathon runner and climber, he has used vicious rhetoric and often launched personal attacks against political opponents.

Despite his popularity on the campaign trail, Kickl’s provocative style has left him lacking potential coalition partners with which to govern.

Kickl, interior minister in a previous conservative-led government, has never hidden his proximity to the extremist Identitarian Movement to target what they see as their common enemy: Islam.

Kickl, who studied philosophy and history, also represents the right-wing extremist concept of “remigration,” which calls for the expulsion of people with non-European ethnic backgrounds who have not integrated.

In the run-up to Sunday’s vote, Kickl called himself the future “People’s Chancellor,” as Adolf Hitler was called in the 1930s.

– Ex-soldier became “crisis” chancellor –

Chancellor Karl Nehammer, chairman of the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP), campaigned with the promise of “stability for Austria”.

The 51-year-old former soldier and amateur boxer took the helm of the Alpine country after its charismatic leader Sebastian Kurz spectacularly resigned in 2021 amid a series of corruption allegations.

As chancellor, Nehammer has led the country through multiple crises, from the pandemic to the rising cost of living following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the faltering Austrian economy.

Despite a perceived lack of charisma, his followers praise him as loyal, easy-going and trustworthy.

After becoming a lawmaker in 2017, Nehammer was put in charge of the Interior Ministry just months before Austria faced its first jihadist attack, killing four people in November 2020.

To win back voters from the far right, Nehammer, a pro-European, has hardened his stance on immigration, claiming he has drastically reduced the number of irregular migrants coming into the country.

– Former worker with Marxist leanings –

As leader of the left-wing Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) since 2023, Andreas Babler is fighting to turn the fortunes of the party, which long dominated post-war Austrian politics but has been in opposition since 2017.

The 51-year-old Babler, the son of a laborer and former warehouse worker, has gradually risen through the ranks of the SPOe and has tried to unite the party, which has been plagued by internal power struggles.

Babler, mayor of the town of Traiskirchen, which is home to the country’s largest refugee center, has pushed for proposals to introduce a wealth tax, expand access to affordable health care and shorten working hours to reduce what he sees as growing inequalities in Austria.

Babler, who enjoys hunting in his free time, described himself as a Marxist last year before backtracking.

According to polls, the SPÖ is in third place and could still end up in government together with the ÖVP and perhaps a third partner in order to prevent a Kickl chancellorship.

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