Austria, Sep 29 (Alliance News): The Freedom Party has made history by securing the first far-right national parliamentary election victory in post-World War II Austria, finishing ahead of the governing conservatives on Sunday.
This significant win follows heightened concerns regarding immigration, inflation, and the ongoing war in Ukraine. However, the Freedom Party’s path to governance remains uncertain.
Preliminary results indicate that the Freedom Party garnered 29.2% of the vote, while Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s Austrian People’s Party secured 26.5%, and the center-left Social Democrats trailed with 21%.
The outgoing coalition government, consisting of Nehammer’s party and the environmentalist Greens, lost its majority in the lower house of parliament.
Herbert Kickl, the Freedom Party leader and former interior minister, has expressed his ambition to become chancellor.
However, to lead Austria, he will need a coalition partner to form a parliamentary majority, as rivals have signaled their reluctance to work with him in government.
The far-right party has capitalized on public frustration stemming from high inflation, the war in Ukraine, and the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as growing concerns about immigration.
Its election platform, titled “Fortress Austria,” advocates for stricter border controls, the suspension of the right to asylum through emergency law, and the “remigration” of undocumented foreigners.
Kickl’s leadership has seen a resurgence for the Freedom Party, which achieved its best performance in a national parliamentary election since 1999, surpassing its previous high of 26.9%.
The party’s rise follows a decline to 16.2% in the 2019 elections due to a scandal involving then-vice chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache.
Despite Kickl’s electoral success, Andreas Babler, the leader of the Social Democrats, has positioned himself as a staunch opponent, labeling Kickl a “threat to democracy” and ruling out any collaboration with the far-right party.
The election has shifted the landscape of Austrian politics, with Nehammer’s People’s Party now facing declining support amid multiple crises, including rising energy prices and inflation.
The party’s tough stance on immigration has not been enough to retain its previous voter base, with support for the Greens also diminishing to 8%.
As the Freedom Party’s victory sends shockwaves through Austria’s political landscape, the path forward remains challenging for Kickl as he seeks potential coalitions to establish a new government.
