Pending the official review, which will be fully announced on Monday, preliminary results based on exit polls suggest the far-right Freedom Party will be the top vote-getting force in Austria’s general election.
far right Freedom Party it would be like this first force in general elections Austria with 29.1% compared to exit pollsIt is followed by the current chancellor’s conservative People’s Party with 26.2% and the social democrats with 20.4%.
Austrians voted this Sunday in national legislative elections contested by the far right. Freedom Party He participated for the first time with the aim of achieving a profitable victory at the ballot box. Citizens’ concerns about issues such as: migration, inflation, Ukraine and other concerns that dovetail with recent advances by the far right in other parts of Europe.
Who heads the Austrian Freedom Party?
Herbert KicklThe former Interior Minister and campaign strategist, who has led the Freedom Party since 2021, has made no secret of his intention to become Austria’s new chancellor throughout the election race.
Kickl actually used the term ‘Volkskanzler’ or people’s chancellor. used by nazis Despite the parallels in describing Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, the leader of the extremist establishment rejected the comparison.
But parliamentary arithmetic He won’t make his job easy, given that he’ll need a coalition partner with a majority in the Lower House to become Austria’s new leader, and that his rivals already predict they won’t work with Kickl.
What do the latest polls say?
las latest polls they were aiming for something very controversial race The Freedom Party, which started the polls with 27 percent support, and current chancellor Karl Nehammer’s Austrian People’s Party received 25 percent support. Both are followed by centre-left social democrats with 21%.
Nehammer’s statements while voting this Sunday give a clue about what may happen in the elections. talks the next few days. “As a responsible politician, it is important for me to ensure stability, but also for the political center so that radicals do not have a chance,” he said.
more than that 6.3 million people Those over the age of 16 had the right to vote in the elections held to elect the new parliament of Austria, which is a member of the European Union (EU) and has a policy of military neutrality.
The upward trend of the far right since the last parliamentary elections
Kickl achieved this: of course change Since Austria’s last parliamentary elections in 2019. In June, the Freedom Party narrowly won the European Parliament elections, marking its first victory in a nationwide vote. The European Parliament elections also represented progress for other European far-right parties in the Old Continent.
In 2019, his support dropped to 16.2%. scandal He overthrew the coalition government of which he was a junior partner. Then-Vice Chancellor and Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache resigned following the release of a secretly recorded video in which he appeared to offer a favor to an alleged Russian investor.
What are the Freedom Party’s suggestions?
inside you election programThe far-right Freedom Party calls for the deportation of “uninvited aliens,” the creation of a more “homogeneous” nation through strict border control, and, as some analysts put it, the suspension of asylum through “emergency legislation.” see as escalation of “aggressive” rhetoricdeliberately provocative and even more right-leaning.
Freedom Party also calls End of sanctions against RussiaHe is highly critical of Western military aid to Ukraine and wants to withdraw from the European ‘Sky Shield’ initiative, an anti-missile defense project backed by Germany.
HE leader of the social democratsThe party that led most of Austria’s post-World War II governments positioned itself as the The opposite pole of Kickl. Andreas Babiller opposed the administration with the far right and called Kickl a “threat to democracy”.
While the Freedom Party gained enough momentum to become the favorite in the tight race, the popularity of the People’s Party also waned. NehammerCurrently leading a coalition government in which the environmentalist Greens are junior partners, It has lost its power since 2019.
During his election campaign, Nehammer described his party, which has taken a harsh stance on immigration in recent years, as ” strong center“This will guarantee stability in the midst of multiple crises.
ADVERTBut these crisisMany events, from the COVID-19 pandemic to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting rise in energy prices, have cost conservative voters support, according to Peter Filzmaier, one of Austria’s leading political scientists.
