Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer attends a press conference in Vienna, Aug. 8, 2024. The country’s far-right Freedom Party could win a national election for the first time in Sunday’s elections.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer attends a press conference in Vienna, Aug. 8, 2024. The country’s far-right Freedom Party could win a national election for the first time in Sunday’s elections.
Heinz-Peter Bader/AP, file
“You don’t really feel safe in your own country anymore,” said Margot Sterner, 54, at a recent campaign rally. “But thinking about the safety of your own people shouldn’t make you a right-wing extremist.”
The Freedom Party’s platform openly calls for what it describes as the “remigration of uninvited foreigners” and aims to create a more ‘homogeneous’ society by tightening border controls and temporarily suspending the right to asylum.
Kickl’s leadership has seen the party move further to the right, with critics noting a refusal to distance itself from extremist factions, including the Identitarian Movement.
The Freedom Party also wants the lifting of sanctions against Russia, opposes Western military aid to Ukraine, and seeks to withdraw from initiatives such as Germany’s European Sky Shield missile defense project.
In contrast, Social Democrats’ leader Andreas Babler has positioned himself as a staunch opponent to Kickl, labeling him a “threat to democracy” and ruling out any coalition with the far-right.
The current ruling coalition, led by the OVP under Chancellor Karl Nehammer, faces declining popularity, exacerbated by crises stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, energy price surges due to the war in Ukraine, and a contentious vaccine mandate that was later rescinded.
Inflation in Austria has averaged 4.2 percent over the past year, outpacing the EU average.
Should the OVP secure a leading position, a coalition with the FPO becomes a possibility, although analysts say a more likely scenario would involve a three-way alliance with the SPO and the liberal Neos party.
The outcome of this election could redefine Austria’s political landscape and influence the broader trajectory of right-wing politics in Europe.
This report includes additional reporting from The Associated Press
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Publish date : 2024-09-26 04:10:00
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