Freedom Party of Austria wins general election

Austria’s nationalist Freedom Party (FPÖ) won the country’s general election last night by a considerable margin over Chancellor Karl Nehamer’s Christian Democratic Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), according to preliminary results.

According to current results, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) won 29.2% of the votes, three percentage points ahead of the ÖVP on 26.5%. The Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) came third with 21%. The liberal NEOS (9%) and the Greens (8%) came fourth and fifth respectively.

The result follows the FPÖ’s victory in the European elections three months ago, when it won 25.4% against the ÖVP’s 24.5%. Despite previous successes, the FPÖ has never won a national election before, although it was part of coalition governments in 1999 and 2018.

Under the leadership of Herbert Kickl, the FPÖ’s campaign focused on anti-immigration issues, including proposals for strict restrictions on immigration, including the “remigration of uninvited foreigners”, and the use of states of emergency to circumvent the right to asylum.

Danke Österreich! 💙🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/LsTC32t4TD

— FPÖ (@FPOE_TV) September 29, 2024

“Policy of peace and neutrality”

Kickl has also been critical of EU sanctions against Russia and has described European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as a “warmonger”. In its election manifesto, the FPÖ has pledged to end all contributions to the EU arms fund for Ukraine, saying that Austria should instead pursue an “active policy of peace and neutrality”. The manifesto also includes a call to resume purchases of Russian gas.

Despite the victory, the FPÖ faces a test in forming a government, as in Germany, where the AfD faces similar opposition, most established parties in Austria have rejected the possibility of working with the FPÖ. The ÖVP, however, has opened discussions but stressed that it will not participate in a government led by Kickl.