Austria’s hard-right Freedom Party has topped the country’s national elections, winning the popular vote for the first time in its history.
While the party has been in government several times, it’s the first time it has won the most votes, having gained the support of 29.1 per cent of electors, according to projections based on more than 60 per cent of the votes counted.
But even with the victory, it is still uncertain that the party will be able to form the next government.
In line with the insurgence of far-right parties elsewhere in Europe, the Freedom Party has seen its popularity soar, fed by voter anger over migration, inflation and Covid restrictions.
Its leader Herbert Kickl, 55, has vowed to transform the country into ‘Fortress Austria’, slamming the current government’s ‘failed migration policy’ as being to blame for the Islamist terror plot on a Taylor Swift concert.
Based on current projections, the conservative People’s Party, led by current Chancellor Karl Nehammer, is on course to become the second largest group, with 26.3 per cent of votes.
Herbert Kickl speaks at a rally as projections show his Freedom Party have won the most votes at the general election
Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl speaking on Sunday evening following his party’s election victory
Mr Kickl and his party have promoted ‘remigration’, the controversial concept which involves the expulsion of immigrants
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer shares a glass of wine with his party colleagues after exit poll figures were released for the country’s general election on Sunday evening
Anti right-wing protesters in Vienna hold placards reading ‘Don’t let Nazis rule and never let them march’
Protesters light flares in a demonstration in Vienna, after the exit poll showing a win for the far-right Freedom Party
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen makes a statement in Vienna on the night of the country’s election
Mr Kickl and his party have promoted ‘remigration’, the controversial concept which promotes the expulsion of immigrants of non-European ethnic backgrounds who are deemed to have failed to integrate.
He is also seen by critics as being soft on Vladimir Putin, and has repeatedly called for an end to Austrian support for Ukraine, arguing that the country should remain neutral.
A fan of Viktor Orban, Hungary’s pro-Putin president, he has accused the EU of ‘warmongering’ and said that if he becomes chancellor he would veto sanctions against Russia.
His victory marks the first time a hard-right party has won a parliamentary vote in Austria since the fall of the Third Reich.
The centre-left Social Democrats were in third place on 21 per cent of the vote, as the outgoing government, a coalition of Mr Nehammer’s party and the environmentalist Greens, lost its majority in the lower house of parliament.
Addressing his party’s result, Mr Nehammer said it was ‘bitter’ that it missed out on first place, but noted that he had brought it back from lower poll ratings. He once again ruled out a coalition with Mr Kickl, adding ‘what I said before the election, I also say after the election.’
Anti-right protesters took to the streets in Vienna on Sunday night to voice their dissatisfaction at the result, with some holding placards reading ‘don’t let Nazis rule and never let them march’.
Meanwhile leaders of other right-wing parties across Europe congratulated the Freedom Party on its win, including Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders and Alice Weidel, co-leader of Germany’s Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD).
Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl has vowed to transform the country into ‘Fortress Austria’
The FPOe was founded in 1956 as an alternative to Austria’s two main parties, and its first two leaders were both former Nazis and high-ranking SS officers.
It later became an established part of Austria’s political landscape and its takeover by populist Jorg Haider saw it begin to appeal to voters with its anti-immigration message.
Under Kickl, the FPOe has rapidly gained support and is now likely to get into power as the senior partner in a new coalition with the conservative Austrian People’s Party (OVP).
Since he took charge of the party in 2021, it has risen in the polls to about 27 percent – sharply up from 18 percent three years ago.
The populist leader was previously a behind-the-scenes operator in the party, helping to repackage it in the 1990s and get it into government in Vienna in 2000.
Buoyed by discontent over soaring inflation, Kickl has profited from the plummeting popularity of the ruling coalition of conservatives and Greens.
In June’s European elections the FPOe topped the poll for the first time nationally, taking more than a quarter of the vote.
A professional politician, Kickl studied philosophy, history, communication and political science before starting to work for the FPOe in 1995.
The FPOe is likely to get into power as the senior partner in a new coalition with the conservative Austrian People’s Party (OVP). Pictured: Head of People’s Party (OEVP) and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer
Since Kickl (centre) took charge of the party in 2021, it has risen in the polls to about 27 percent
But little is known about his private life and he has maintained a low profile, with voters warming to his tidy and trustworthy demeanour, in contrast to his flamboyant predecessors.
But his bland, unassuming image contrasts with his virulent rhetoric, which he expertly employs against political opponents, slamming President Alexander Van der Bellen as a ‘senile mummy’.
‘He is the rudest politician in the country,’ journalist Nina Horaczek, who analysed Kickl’s speeches in a book published this year.
‘It’s a way of discrediting those who think differently,’ she added.
Visitors queue up to enter the Parliament building in Vienna, Austria, September 23, 2024
However, Kickl has also avoided debates and interviews, denouncing the media for their ‘lack of objectivity’.
He declined AFP’s request for an interview.
Instead he has relied on social media. The FPOe sparked fury last year with a video espousing an extremist conspiracy theory that white Europeans are being replaced by migrants.
It also featured the Vienna balcony where Adolf Hitler gave his speech when he returned to his homeland in triumph after the Nazis annexed Austria in 1938.
The Freedom Party’s comeback
The party has made a significant comeback after it slumped in the 2019 elections, and is now expected to win, even if by a small margin.
The FPOe is most popular among voters aged between 30 and 59, according to a recent survey.
Its voters are more likely to live in rural areas rather than big cities, be less educated and have a more pessimistic view of the world, the survey found.
While its base was predominantly male for years, this has been changing, with more women than men predicted to vote FPOe on Sunday.
The FPOe was founded by former Nazis, and Kickl has frequently employed terms reminiscent of the party’s troubled past, including calling himself the future ‘Volkskanzler’ – the people’s chancellor – as Hitler was termed in the 1930s.
‘It’s a well targeted provocation with two aims – to get people talking and to send very clear signals’ to the party’s most radical fringes, said Horaczek.
Kickl denies ‘Volkskanzler’ is a Nazi reference, insisting that several politicians had claimed the term for themselves in the past.
But the far-right leader has never made a secret of his closeness to extremist groups, expressing his support for the Identitarian Movement as early as 2016.
He has also espoused the far-right concept of ‘remigration’ that calls for expelling people of non-European ethnic backgrounds deemed to have failed to integrate.
In 2018 during his time as interior minister, Kickl oversaw a controversial raid on the country’s secret service, where documents on the links between the FPOe and extremist circles were seized.
And in April, prosecutors launched a corruption investigation against him amid claims that public money was embezzled to pay for adverts in return for alleged favourable coverage.
Last year, Kickl appeared on posters in his home region of Carinthia, dressed in a green parka jacket with military overtones alongside the slogan: ‘Fortress Austria – closing borders, guaranteeing security.’
For the national elections he changed into a suit, but has kept the slogan.
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Publish date : 2024-09-29 12:06:00
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