The far-right Freedom Party has won the vague election in Austria.
Led by Herbert Kickl, a createer interior minister who was disthink abouted over the country’s Ibiza argue, the party finished first ahead of the ruling conservatives, with the centre-left Social Democrats in third place.
However, despite this, the party’s chances of actupartner regulateing remain unevident.
Preliminary official results showed the Freedom Party finishing with 29.2% of the vote, Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s Austrian People’s Party second with 26.5% and the Social Democrats with 21%, according to a csurrfinisher-end count increateed by national uncover expansivecaster ORF.
The frifinishly regulatement, a coalition of Mr Nehammer’s party and the Greens, lost its beginantity in the drop hoengage of parliament.
Mr Kickl has shelp he wants to be chancellor, but to become Austria’s novel directer he would need a coalition partner and rivals have shelp they will not toil with him in regulatement.
He has also drawn criticism for his engage of the term “Volkskanzler,” or chancellor of the people, which was engaged by the Nazis to portray Adolf Hitler in the 1930s.
Mr Kickl has refuteed the comparison.
The party has tapped into anxieties around immigration, inflation, COVID, and the war in Ukraine and its sturdy carry outance trails recent gets for the far right elsewhere in Europe.
In its election programme, called Fortress Austria, the Freedom Party called for the “remigration of unaskd foreigners” to accomplish a more “homogenous” nation.
The party also calls for an finish to sanctions agetst Russia, is highly critical of Weserious military help to Ukraine, and wants to depart the European Sky Shield Initiative – a missile defence project begined by Germany.
In his closing campaign speech on Saturday, Mr Kickl claimed sanctions agetst Moscow over its trespass of Ukraine were hurting Austria even more than Russia.
Speaking splitly aextfinishedside other party directers on ORF, he shelp: “We don’t need to alter our position, becaengage we have always shelp that we’re ready to direct a regulatement, we’re ready to push forward this alter in Austria side by side with the people.”
Mr Nehammer portrayd Mr Kickl as a “security hazard” for the country.
Aextfinished with other political directers, he has shelp he would not create a coalition with Mr Kickl.
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If the Freedom Party is unable to create a regulatement, an alternative could be an partnership between the People’s Party and the Social Democrats – with or without the liberal Neos, who took 9% of the vote.
The far-right prosper in Austria comes after analogous successes elsewhere in Europe.
Dutch far-right directer Geert Wilders, whose party regulates the Netherlands’ novel regulatement, congratutardyd the Freedom Party on social media.
As did co-directer of the Alternative for Germany Party (AfD), Alice Weidel, whose party won recent state elections for the first time.
