Austria’s far-right Freedom Party is seeking an unprecedented election victory

Austrian voters cast their votes today, Sunday, in general elections that may see the far-right Freedom Party lead the polls for the first time.

Five years ago, the party emerged from a coalition government with the conservative People’s Party due to a A corruption scandal dubbed Ibiza Gate.

But now, under the leadership of Herbert Kickl, the Austrian Freedom Party was on the verge of a historic victory. He is narrowly ahead of the ruling conservatives in opinion polls, and the opposition Social Democratic Party is in third place.

Even if the Freedom Party comes first, neither party is expected to win enough seats to gain an outright majority, and building a coalition is likely to be difficult.

The Freedom Party of Austria has successfully exploited concerns about immigration, high inflation, the war in Ukraine and anger at the way the Covid pandemic has been handled, and for months its popularity has hovered around 27% in opinion polls, two points ahead of the conservative Austrian People’s Party. , which predicts a “picture finish.”

“Opportunities have never been so great,” says one of her campaign videos. “like Volkskanzler (People’s Counsel) Herbert Kickl will do everything in his power to restore your freedom, security and life Wallstand (Prosperity) and your peace… Let us build the fortress of Austria!”

It then shows Kickle saying that he wants to be “your servant and protector.”

Kickl’s use of this term VolkskanzlerWhich was used to describe Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, alarming some Austrians.

For them, it is an uncomfortable reminder of the origins of the Freedom Party of Austria. Founded by former Nazis in the 1950s. Demonstrators at the party’s final election rally, on Friday evening, waved banners reading, “Nazis, get out of parliament.”

Like other far-right European parties, the Freedom Party of Austria combines hard-line rhetoric on immigration and Islam with promises to limit what it sees as Brussels’ interference in national affairs.

But Kickl has also closely aligned his party with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a self-proclaimed champion of “illiberal democracy,” and has taken a more conciliatory tone when it comes to Russia.

The Freedom Party leader described European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as a “warmonger” and opposes sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Political analyst Thomas Hofer says that Kickl’s speech has always been “very harsh and divisive,” but he believes that winning the election will not necessarily pave the way for heading a coalition government.

He said: “Of course, this will be a completely new situation in the history of the Second Republic in Austria, because the Freedom Party came close to this several times, but it was never in first place, at least not at the level of the general elections.” BBC.

The party surprised European politics under Jörg Haider in 1999, finishing second in the election and joining a conservative-led government. When the party joined the coalition in 2018, Herbert Kickl was Interior Minister, until the party became mired in a corruption scandal.

Now as leader, the fiery Kickl has led his party towards what could be its best result yet.

“It will come as a shock to the other parties, but that does not mean that if the FPÖ comes first, they will also get the chancellorship. This is by no means clear,” Thomas Hofer said.

The leader of the FPÖ is widely disliked by other parties in Austria.

The conservative People’s Party, led by current Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, has repeatedly ruled out joining a government led by Kickl, although he has not ruled out an alliance with his party.

Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen also expressed his unwillingness to see Kickl lead the country.

Other parties, including the Social Democrats and Greens, have also said they will not form a government with the Freedom Party of Austria.

“There is no alliance with the far right,” Green Party Climate Action Minister Leonor Gevsler told the BBC.

He added: “We will not work in coalition with the far-right FPÖ party, which denies climate change, and which only serves to divide our society and spread fear and conspiracy theories.”

Under Karl Nehammer, conservatives framed the vote as a choice between the incumbent Chancellor or Kickl, seeking to appeal to centrist voters with slogans such as “vote stability” and “vote center”.

“It is impossible to form a government with someone who loves conspiracy theories,” Nehammer said.

Thomas Hofer highlights the lack of vision of both conservatives and social democrats: “One of the main reasons why [the FPÖ] This return is certainly the weakness of others.”

He says that forming a coalition government may take months.

Although about 6.3 million Austrians aged 16 or older will be able to vote in Sunday’s election, another 1.5 million long-term residents will not have that right, due to Austria’s highly restrictive citizenship laws.

Across the country, this means almost one in five are excluded, while in Vienna the ratio is one in three.

To highlight the issue, a charity organized an informal vote that attracted nearly 20,000 people. Pass the wheels and people – Which translates as elections, the passport does not matter.

Elisabeth Scherzenlehner, who teaches German to refugees, took her students to a campaign group meeting in Vienna.

“I think the FPÖ is a really strong negative voice, and I think there will be no mercy if they rule Austria,” she said.