Kickl’s right winger is heading for an unprecedented victory

According to forecasts, Austria’s right-wing extremist Freedom Party under its leader Herbert Kickl is heading for an unprecedented election victory.

The projections, based on almost complete results, put Kickl’s party at 28.8% – more than two points ahead of the conservative People’s Party at 26.3%, but far from a majority.

The Freedom Party (FPÖ) has been in a coalition before, but the second-place conservative People’s Party refused to take part in a government led by him.

Kickl’s victory is just the latest in a string of far-right electoral successes in Europe and he praised voters for their “optimism, courage and trust”.

Kickl’s main rival, incumbent Chancellor Karl Nehammer of the People’s Party (ÖVP), said it was “impossible to form a government with someone who loves conspiracy theories.”

Around 6.3 million Austrians were eligible to vote in a race that was dominated by the two issues of migration and asylum as well as inflation and war in Ukraine.

General Secretary Michael Schnedlitz was pleased with the initial forecasts and declared: “The men and women of Austria have made history today.” He refused to say what kind of coalition his party would try to form.

They are on track to secure around 56 seats in the 183-seat parliament, with the Conservatives on 52 and the Social Democrats on 41.

The ardent Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl has promised Austrians to build “Fortress Austria” to restore their security, prosperity and peace, and he has allied closely with Viktor Orban in neighboring Hungary.

The leader of the Social Democrats Andreas Babler warned that Austria should not follow the same path as Hungary.

Kickl also spoke about becoming People’s Chancellor (People’s Chancellor), which for some Austrians has echoes of the term used to describe Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.

The party was founded by former Nazis in the 1950s. Two days before the vote, some of their candidates were caught on video singing an SS song at a funeral.

As the Freedom Party’s victory became clear, a small group of demonstrators appeared in front of parliament with anti-Nazi banners.

Forming a coalition is likely to prove complicated for the controversial Herbert Kickl.

The Social Democrats, Greens and Neos have all ruled out a partnership with the extreme right.

The only possible coalition that Kickl’s party could form would be with the Conservatives, although the Freedom Party would have to find a solution to the People’s Party’s refusal to have Kickl as chancellor.

When Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party won the Dutch elections last November, he dropped his bid for prime minister so that three other parties agreed to form a coalition. However, Kickl aspires to become chancellor and promises the Austrians that he will act as their “servant and protector.”

Political analyst Thomas Hofer told the BBC it was far from clear that Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, who is overseeing government formation, would give Kickl a “direct order to form a coalition.”

The conservative People’s Party could theoretically form a coalition with the Social Democrats if the latest forecasts are correct, and could attract the liberal Neos Party or the Greens.

Karl Nehammer could also come under pressure within the People’s Party to drop his objection. After such a historic defeat, a leading FPÖ politician said he should resign.

In the past, President Van der Bellen had expressed reservations about the FPÖ because it criticized the EU and did not condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The party is against EU sanctions against Moscow and pointed to Austria’s neutrality. Many of their MPs walked out of a speech by Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky to parliament in Vienna last year.

Kickl’s predicted victory is the latest in almost a year of electoral successes for right-wing parties in Europe.

Italian Giorgia Meloni heads a right-wing coalition as leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, while Germany’s AfD topped polls in the eastern state of Thuringia last month. In the European elections last June, the French National Assembly won the vote.

In contrast to Kickl, Italy’s prime minister has given her full support to the EU’s defense of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s large-scale invasion.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel congratulated Kickl and posted a picture of the two together, and Marine le Pen from the National Rally said: “This recovery contributes to the defense of national interests.after the votes elsewhere in Europe, confirmed the “victories of the people everywhere”.

Geert Wilders said that times are changing and that “identity, sovereignty, freedom and no more illegal immigration/asylum” is what millions of Europeans long for.

Kickl has preyed on fears over immigration in Austria and exploited anger over the government’s handling of the Covid pandemic by embracing conspiracy theories about unclear treatment options for the virus.

For Kickl and his party, Sunday’s election victory represents a significant rebound from 2019, when they came a distant third after a video stabbing scandal that engulfed their former leader.