Austria’s far-right Freedom Party on course for historic victory in Sunday's general election, polls suggest
by Will Conroy · LBCBy Will Conroy
Austria’s far-right opposition Freedom Party (FPÖ) could top the polls for the first time in the country’s general election on Sunday.
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The FPÖ, led by Herbet Kickl, have been ahead of the ruling conservative Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP) in the opinion polls since 2022 while the opposition Social Democrats are in third place.
With this lead having narrowed, it is unlikely any party will win enough seats to form an outright majority and constructing a coalition would likely prove difficult.
A coalition between the FPÖ and the conservative People’s Party collapsed in 2019 following a corruption scandal known as Ibiza-gate.
ÖVP Chancellor Karl Nehammer has repeatedly ruled out joining a government led by Kickl’s FPÖ and has described Kickl as a “security risk”.
He has said it is “impossible to form a government with someone who adores conspiracy theories”.
Austria’s President, Alexander Van der Bellen, has also expressed his reluctance to see Kickl lead the country.
Other parties including the Social Democrats and Greens have also said they won’t form a government with the FPÖ.
"No coalition with the far right," the Greens' Climate Action Minister Leonore Gewessler told the BBC.
"We will not work in a coalition with the far right FPÖ, which denies climate change, which only works on dividing our society and spreading fear and conspiracy theories."
The FPÖ has appealed to those with concerns about migration, rising inflation, the war in Ukraine and handling of the Covid pandemic.
Similar dissatisfaction played a role in the success of Alternative for Germany in Thuringia’s recent state election in Germany.
For months now the FPÖ has been polling at 27%, up to two points ahead of the ÖVP or Austrian People's Party, which is predicting a photo finish.
One of FPÖ’s campaign videos says: “The chances have never been so great. As Volkskanzler (people's chancellor) Herbert Kickl will do everything to give you back your freedom, your security, your Wohlstand (prosperity) and your peace... Let’s build Fortress Austria!”
It then shows Kickl saying that he wants to be “your servant and your protector”.
Kickl’s use of the term Volkskanzler was used to describe Adolf Hitler in the 1930s and has worried some Austrians, particularly given the FPÖ was founded by former Nazis in the 1950s.
Protesters at the party's final election rally on Friday night waved banners reading "Nazis out of parliament".
Like other far-right European parties, the FPÖ focusses on immigration and pledges to reduce promises to reduce interference from Brussels.
Kickl has called European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen a "warmonger" and opposes sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Despite the fact some 6.3 million Austrians aged 16 or over will be able to vote in Sunday's election, 1.5 million residents will not have the right, because of Austria’s restrictive citizenship laws.
Across the country that means almost one in five is excluded, whereas in Vienna the proportion is as high as one in three.