National Council election: Election in Austria: FPÖ leader remains optimistic

National Council election: Election in Austria: FPÖ leader remains optimistic

First he went jogging, then he went to vote. Shortly before the polls close, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl remains convinced that the right-wing populists will win. But will it still be tight in the end?

The right-wing populists see themselves as victorious in the parliamentary elections in Austria. “Overall, I have a good feeling about today,” said FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl after casting his vote in a retirement home in his home town near Vienna. The 55-year-old, who had previously been jogging, was demonstratively calm and self-confident. The polls see the FPÖ ahead of the conservative ÖVP.

In the morning, Chancellor and ÖVP leader Karl Nehammer was one of the first among the top candidates to cast his vote. The 51-year-old head of government told reporters in front of the polling station that he was confident because he had recently sensed a “strong electoral movement” in favor of the ÖVP. According to recent surveys, the conservative ÖVP has now reduced the gap to the long-time favorite right-wing FPÖ to two percentage points.

In Austria, almost 6.4 million eligible voters are called upon to cast their votes. The last polling stations close at 5 p.m. A first projection is expected shortly afterwards. Voter turnout in 2019 was around 76 percent. Pollsters expect a higher number to be achieved this time. A sign of this could be the significantly increased number of postal voters. The National Council has 183 representatives and will be constituted on October 24th.

FPÖ sees double-digit plus

According to surveys, the right-wing FPÖ has a very good chance of becoming the strongest force. It would be the first time that the party won a National Council election. The polls recently saw the right-wing populists at around 27 percent – a double-digit increase compared to 2019. The conservative ÖVP came in at around 25 percent in surveys. That would be a significant drop compared to 2019, when the party with Sebastian Kurz at the top recorded 37.5 percent. According to surveys, the social democratic SPÖ was recently at around 21 percent – roughly the level of the record low of 2019. It will be difficult for the beer party of the cabaret artist and musician Marco Pogo and the communist KPÖ to overcome the four percent hurdle.

But even if the FPÖ wins, it is questionable whether party leader Kickl will become chancellor of the Alpine republic. So far, all other parties have refused to work with the 55-year-old. Most recently, Austria was governed by a coalition of the ÖVP and the Greens. The alliance was forged by the then ÖVP boss Kurz.

Source: Stern

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