“We will kick upwards and clamp down on those who don’t mean well for us”, said Herbert Kickl in May 2023. Under Kickl’s leadership, the Austrian Freedom party (FPÖ) has scored its biggest election victory since it was founded in 1956 by Anton Reinthaller, an Austrian Nazi who had served as a lieutenant general in the SS. Not only is the FPÖ now more popular than ever, it is also at the height of its radicalism.
The FPÖ’s victory in Sunday’s national elections is being celebrated by far-right movements and influencers across Europe. No wonder: it demonstrates how successful they have been at normalising and internationalising their extreme ideologies, conspiracy myths and policy proposals.
