According to initial projections, Austria’s right-wing extremist Freedom Party will win the National Council election – POLITICO

VIENNA – Austria’s far-right Freedom Party stormed to victory on Sunday, according to initial projections, marking the first time since World War II that a party with fascist leanings has won a national election in the Alpine country.

The Freedom Party, founded in the 1950s by a group of Nazi veterans, came out on top with 29.1 percent of the vote, edging out the center-right ÖVP, which currently leads a coalition government. The People’s Party got 26.2 percent. The center-left Social Democrats came third with 20.4 percent, followed by the liberal Neos with 8.8 percent and the Greens with 8.6 percent.

If predictions are correct, a party victory would enlarge Central Europe’s pro-Putin European bloc.

This story will be updated.