Austria’s far-right nationalist Freedom party has scored its best result in a national election for two decades and is likely to join the country’s next government, in a significant boost for Europe’s anti-establishment movements.
Sebastian Kurz, the 31-year-old leader of the mainstream conservative People’s party, looked set to become Austrian chancellor – and the EU’s youngest leader – after topping yesterday’s poll with 31.6 per cent of the vote, according to projections. He said the vote was a “clear contract to change the country”.
But the exit polls showed 26 per cent of the vote went to the Freedom party, which has earned international notoriety for its hardline stance on immigration and airbrushing of Austria’s Nazi past. If confirmed, that would be its strongest performance since the 26.9 per cent it won in 1999 when the party was led by Jörg Haider.
Heinz Christian Strache, Freedom party’s leader, hailed a “great success” but refrained from immediate comment on any possible coalition.
Its strong showing means the Freedom party could demand a high price to join a coalition led by Mr Kurz. That would almost certainty result in a more aggressive position from Vienna on many EU topics – including immigration – and the Freedom party occupying top government posts such as the foreign and interior ministries.
“It is certainly a very strong message for Europe,” said Thomas Hofer, a political analyst in Vienna. The Freedom party had a “fabulous campaign”.
Mr Kurz could, however, seek a different coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats, who, according to exit polls, came second with 26.8 per cent. Such an arrangement would continue the “grand coalition” between Austria’s two mainstream parties, which Mr Kurz had promised to overhaul.
Christian Kern, Social Democratic leader, said Austria had seen a “massive slide to the right”, but hinted he hoped his party would remain in power, saying it took its responsibilities seriously.
The Social Democrats’ share of the vote was better than many in the party had feared and was a slight improvement on its 2013 result, which had been its worst in the postwar era.
Mr Kurz triggered the collapse of the government in May and sought to present himself as a young reformist in the style of Emmanuel Macron, the French president. However, yesterday’s result suggests that Mr Kurz had less success than expected in blunting the challenge from the Freedom party, which during the campaign had warned of Austria’s “Islamification”.
Mr Kurz adopted a similarly tough line on stopping illegal immigration, limiting foreigners’ access to Austria’s generous welfare system and pushing for a stronger defence of the EU’s external borders.
But in the final days of the campaign, Freedom party leaders “hammered home the idea that Mr Kurz is not for real”, said Mr Hofer.
