“Earthquake”: Austria’s far-right Freedom Party wins election | Election News

Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) has won the country’s national elections in a historic victory, but is likely to struggle to find partners who would allow it to form a governing coalition.

The FPÖ received 28.8 percent of the vote, relegating the ruling conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) to second place with 26.3 percent, according to the almost complete results.

Although the FPOe has been involved in coalition governments before, this is the first time it has won a nationwide vote, at a time when far-right parties have made gains across Europe.

However, all other parties in the country rejected a coalition with the Eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPÖ, which was founded in the 1950s under the leadership of a former Nazi MP. Chairman Herbert Kickl is also a provocative and polarizing figure who is completely unpopular with other party leaders.

“We wrote a piece of history together today…” said 55-year-old Kickl in front of cheering fans in Vienna. “We have opened a door to a new era.”

Like other far-right parties elsewhere in Europe, the FPOE’s popularity has soared amid voter anger over issues such as migration, the state of the economy and restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is certainly an earthquake and will trigger a shockwave for all other parties,” said political scientist Thomas Hofer to the AFP news agency.

“Our hand is outstretched”

Kickl, who took over the party’s leadership in 2021, said he was ready to form a government with “every single” party in parliament.

“Our hand is stretched out in all directions,” he said.

There was a festive atmosphere among FPOe supporters as supporters dressed in traditional Austrian clothing drank glasses of beer.

“It’s a real success… It’s going to be a very, very exciting time,” said Erik Berglund, a waiter, as the FPÖ tries to form a government. The 35-year-old described Kickl as the “most competent leader”.

Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who has been able to close the gap to the FPÖ in opinion polls in recent weeks, admitted that he had not succeeded in doing so.

“It was a race to catch up that we unfortunately didn’t manage,” said 51-year-old Nehammer and promised to “continue to fight for the interests of the people.”

Nevertheless, Nehammer could remain chancellor by forming a coalition with the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and possibly another party, probably the liberal NEOS.

The SPOe reached 21.1 percent, similar to its record low of 2019, while NEOS was at 9.2 percent.

A three-party coalition would be a first, but analysts say it could be difficult to run the government given the country’s shift to the right.

A coalition between the far right and the conservatives, who have been in power since 1987, also remains a possibility, analysts say.

The FPÖ’s first government with the conservatives in 2000 sparked widespread protests and sanctions in Brussels.

The second failed due to a spectacular FPOe corruption scandal in 2019, after only a year and a half in power.

More than 6.3 million of Austria’s 9 million residents were eligible to vote.

Nehammer reiterated his refusal to work with Kickl, who called himself the future “Volkskanzler,” the Volkskanzler, as Adolf Hitler was known in the 1930s.

Kickl regularly attacks the European Union’s sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Kathrin Stainer-Hämmerle, a political science professor at Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, said that if Kickl succeeds in becoming chancellor, Austria’s role in the EU would be “significantly different.”

“Kickl said that often [Hungarian Prime Minister] “Viktor Orban is a role model for him and he will stand by him,” she told Reuters.