Summary of the day
Austria’s main parties are preparing to begin tense wrangling to form a government amid warnings about the country’s democracy.
On Sunday, the far-right Freedom party (FPÖ) scored its strongest result since its founding with just over 29% of the vote.
The first place finish by the FPÖ marks another significant step in the radical right’s onward march across Europe.
But the FPÖ will face an uphill battle to form a government as it failed to secure an absolute majority.
The centre-right ÖVP would be a potential partner but has called a government led by polarising FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl a dealbreaker.
Far-right figures across the continent celebrated the results.
Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders said “the Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, France, Spain, Czech Republic and today Austria! We are winning! Times are changing!”
Hungary’s Viktor Orbán congratulated Kickl, describing the election results as a “historic victory.”
Valérie Hayer, leader of the liberal Renew Europe group, said that “our democracies deserve to be constantly reminded of the unprecedented danger posed by the extreme right.”
Valérie Hayer, leader of the liberal Renew Europe group, has said that “24 years ago, everyone was appalled. Today, some might consider it commonplace for a party that was led by a former SS to win elections. We don’t.”
“This can never be the right choice. Our democracies deserve to be constantly reminded of the unprecedented danger posed by the extreme right,” she added.
24 years ago, everyone was appalled. Today, some might consider it commonplace for a party that was led by a former SS to win elections. We don’t. This can never be the right choice.
— Valérie Hayer (@ValerieHayer) September 30, 2024
Our democracies deserve to be constantly reminded of the unprecedented danger posed by the…
Austrian parties to begin talks on forming government after far-right win
Austria’s main parties are preparing to begin tense wrangling to form a government amid warnings about the country’s democracy after the far right’s watershed victory in a general election that saw angry voters punish centrist incumbents over migration and inflation.
On Sunday the anti-Islam, Kremlin-friendly Freedom party (FPÖ) scored its strongest result since its founding after the second world war by former Nazi functionaries and SS officers with just over 29% of the vote.
Despite its resounding win, the FPÖ, which calls for a “Fortress Austria” against migration and “remigration” or forced deportations of unwanted foreigners, will face an uphill battle to form a government as it failed to secure an absolute majority.
All of the smaller parties have ruled out any cooperation with the hard right. The ÖVP, which has worked with the rightwing populists several times at the national and regional level, would be a potential partner but has called a government led by polarising FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl a dealbreaker.
Victory in Austria is another step in far right’s march across Europe
The first place finish in Austria’s parliamentary elections by the far-right, anti-immigration, Russia-friendly Eurosceptic Freedom party (FPÖ) nonetheless marks another significant step in the radical right’s onward march across Europe.
It rounds off 12 months of elections in which illiberal parties have won the most seats in parliaments across Europe.
The FPÖ is not certain to be part of Austria’s next government. As kingmaker, the ÖVP may seek an alliance with the third-placed, centre-left SPÖ and the liberals. It has repeatedly said it will not rule with the FPÖ’s inflammatory leader, Herbert Kickl.
But if Kickl can be persuaded to abandon his prime ministerial ambitions for a less controversial FPÖ figure, and the ÖVP can overcome its concerns about a third – likely tempestuous – alliance with the far-right party, an FPÖ-ÖVP coalition is possible.
For the EU, that holds the unappetising prospect of Austria becoming part of a putative Moscow-friendly, anti-Brussels, autocratic bloc that, by this time next year, could include Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, Robert Fico’s Slovakia and Andrej Babiš’s Czech Republic.
That could have significant consequences, for example for EU policies towards – and support for – Ukraine. Far-right parties already in government or pushing at the gates are already resulting in dramatically tougher policies on immigration across the bloc.
Updated
Karl Nehammer, Austria’s chancellor, called the result, which will send shock waves through Europe, “bitter” while his defence minister, Klaudia Tanner, admitted the debacle for the governing parties was a “wake-up call”.
Because it failed to win an absolute majority, the far-right Freedom party (FPÖ) will need a partner to govern.
Unlike the other centrist parties, the People’s party (ÖVP) has not ruled out cooperating with the far right in the next government, as it has twice in the past in taboo-breaking alliances at the national level.
Nehammer, however, repeated on Sunday that a scenario in which Herbert Kickl, a former hardline interior minister, became chancellor was a non-starter, setting up a potential showdown in which the FPÖ would have to either jettison Kickl or take a backseat in government to win the ÖVP’s support.
German Green MEP Daniel Freund reacted to the Austrian election’s outcome with an emoji.
— Daniel Freund (@daniel_freund) September 30, 2024
Here’s an interesting graph of where the far-right’s votes came from.
Hier findet ihr die #Wählerstromanalyse zur #NRWahl24: https://t.co/ETBo37a15G pic.twitter.com/r6EtSU1L4r
— DER STANDARD (@derStandardat) September 30, 2024
Here’s a map from ORF showing which parties came first in each Austrian municipality.
Austrian media is noting this morning the geographic differences in the far-right’s performance yesterday.
The far-right did especially well in rural areas and smaller towns, while the Social Democrats performed well in most big cities.
Updated
Gert Wilders celebrates outcome of Austria election
Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders also celebrated the outcome of Austria’s election.
“The Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, France, Spain, Czech Republic and today Austria! We are winning! Times are changing!” he wrote.
The Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, France, Spain, Czech Republic and today Austria!
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) September 29, 2024
We are winning!
Times are changing!
Identity, sovereignty, freedom and no more illegal immigration/asylum is what tens of millions of Europeans long for!
❤️
Updated
Academic Cas Mudde has written of the Austrian election results that the “swing is mainly WITHIN and not towards ÖVP-FPÖ.”
“This is increasingly common: right-wing block wins modestly but within the right-wing block the far right wins big,” he added.
Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has congratulated Herbert Kickl, describing the election results as a “historic victory.”
Orbán’s Fidesz party and Kickl’s far-right Freedom party are both members of the Patriots for Europe group.
Another win for the #Patriots: an historic victory for #FPÖ in #Austria! Congratulations to Herbert Kickl!
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) September 29, 2024
Far-right Freedom party finishes first in Austrian election, latest results suggest
The far right won the most votes in an Austrian election for the first time since the Nazi era on Sunday, as the Freedom party (FPÖ) rode a tide of public anger over migration and the cost of living to beat the centre-right People’s party (ÖVP).
The pro-Kremlin, anti-Islam FPÖ won 29.2% of votes, beating the ruling ÖVP of the chancellor, Karl Nehammer, into second place on 26.5%, according to near-complete results.
The opposition Social Democratic party scored its worst ever result – 21% – while the liberal NEOS drew about 9%. Despite devastating flooding this month from Storm Boris bringing the climate crisis to the fore, the Greens, junior partners in the government coalition, tallied 8.3% in a dismal fifth place.
Profiting from a rightwing surge in many parts of Europe and taking Hungary’s Viktor Orbán as a model, the FPÖ capitalised on fears around migration, asylum and crime heightened by the August cancellation of three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna over an alleged Islamist terror plot.
Its polarising lead candidate, Herbert Kickl, who campaigned using the “people’s chancellor” moniker once used to describe the Austrian-born Adolf Hitler, said he was ready to form a government with “each and every one” of the parties in parliament.
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