Austria: Right-wing FPÖ triumphs in National Council election

It is the FPÖ’s greatest triumph to date. According to projections, the right-wing populists have won a parliamentary election in Austria for the first time. The EU and Islam-critical party can make strong gains and comes to 29.1 percent of votes after 16.2 percent in 2019, according to the first projection for the APA news agency and ORF.

FPÖ has been the governing party in Austria several times

The FPÖ has already been involved in the government in Vienna several times, but so far only as a junior partner. If the election victory for the right-wing populists is confirmed – the projection has a fluctuation range of two percent – the Chancellery will be within reach for them for the first time. However, in order to govern, the “Blues” need a coalition partner. Only the ÖVP is eligible for this; all other parties have ruled out an alliance with the FPÖ.

It is also unclear whether Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen would actually commission FPÖ party leader Herbert Kickl to form a government. According to the Austrian constitution, the head of state has a free hand here. However, van der Bellen has already expressed reservations about an “anti-European” and pro-Russia party. Traditionally, the party with the largest number of votes has always received the contract.

The success of the FPÖ is clear. The party clearly led the polls for a long time. It was only in the days before the election that the lead over the second-placed ÖVP narrowed. In the EU elections in June, she emerged as the winner of a nationwide election for the first time. The Freedom Party is popular among its voters primarily because of its sharp criticism of asylum policy in Austria and Europe.

Right-wing parties in Europe are on the rise

With its success, the FPÖ joins other right-wing parties in Europe that are currently generally on the rise. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilder’s right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV) became the strongest force in autumn 2023. Giorgia Meloni from the right-wing Fratelli d’Italia party has ruled Italy since 2022. In Germany, the AfD is making strong gains in some federal states and, according to surveys, is the second strongest force behind the CDU/CSU.

In Austria – unlike in Germany against the AfD – there is no so-called firewall. The FPÖ, which was founded in the 1950s by former members of the National Socialist NSDAP, has been part of the political landscape in Austria for decades. The party sits in several state governments and has governed several times at the federal level – most recently with the ÖVP until mid-2019.

Taboo breaker Kickl

Former Interior Minister Kickl took over the FPÖ leadership in 2021 after his party’s “Ibizagate” corruption scandal. With conspiracy stories about the Corona protection measures, hostile slogans against migrants and sharp criticism of the support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian war of aggression, he brought in the FPÖ’s popularity

Kickl also made a name for himself by deliberately breaking taboos. He cites “remigration” as one of his political goals, in which Austrians with non-European roots whose integration is classified as inadequate should be expelled. The FPÖ leader also blatantly repeats that he wants to become “People’s Chancellor”. Adolf Hitler also chose this title for himself during the Nazi regime.

The article is updated regularly, ed.