Kickl on the right ‘opens a new era’ with an unprecedented victory

Austria’s Freedom Party has opened the gates of a new era, its leader Herbert Kickl told his supporters, as they celebrated an unprecedented election victory.

Predictions based on absolute results gave Kickl’s party 28.8% – more than two points ahead of the Conservative’s Party on 26.3%, but well short of a majority.

Kickl’s victory is just the latest in a long string of electoral successes for the far-right in Europe and he praised voters for their “optimism, courage and confidence” in delivering “a piece of history”.

The Freedom Party (FPÖ) has had a coalition in the past, but the People’s Party, which came in second place, refused to take part in a government led by him.

Kickl’s main rival, Chancellor Karl Nehammer of the People’s Party (ÖVP), said “it is impossible to form a government with someone who likes conspiracy theories”.

There was a high voter turnout of 78% as 6.3 million Austrian voters took part in an election dominated by the twin issues of migration and asylum, as well as the struggling economy and the war in Ukraine.

As part of Austria’s map turned blue, FPÖ general secretary Michael Schnedlitz said “the men and women of Austria have made history today”, although he declined to say what kind of coalition his party would try to build. An analysis of voters suggested that those aged 35-59 were more likely to vote for the far right, and more women than men.

Kickl’s party is about to get 56 seats in the 183-seat parliament, the Conservatives got 52 seats and the Social Democrats 41.

The fiery leader of the Freedom Party, Herbert Kickl, had promised the people of Austria to build a “Fortress Austria”, to restore their security, prosperity and peace, and has aligned himself closely with Viktor Orban in neighboring Hungary.

Social Democrat leader Andreas Babler warned that Austria must not follow the same path as Hungary.

Kickl had also talked about being Volkskanzler (people’s chancellor) which for some Austrians corresponds to the name used to describe Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.

The group was founded by former Nazis in the 1950s. Two days before the vote, some candidates were caught on video singing the SS song at a funeral.

As it became clear that the Freedom Party had won, a group of protesters appeared outside the parliament holding anti-Nazi posters.

Forming an alliance can be difficult for Kickl, who divides people.

The Social Democrats, Greens and Neos have all ruled out co-operation with the far right.

The only possible coalition that Kickl’s party could form is with conservatives, although the Freedom Party will have to find a solution to the People’s Party’s refusal to let Kickl become chancellor.

When Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party won the election in the Netherlands last November, he withdrew his bid to become prime minister so that the other three parties agreed to form a coalition. However, Kickl is determined to lead his country, promising the Austrians to act as their “servant and protector”.

Political analyst Thomas Hofer told the BBC that it was not at all clear that Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, who is overseeing the formation of the government, would give Kickl “a direct mandate to form a coalition”.

The Conservative People’s Party could in theory form a coalition with the Social Democrats if the latter’s views are correct, and could attract the liberal Neos or Greens.

Equally, Karl Nehammer may be under pressure from the People’s Party to drop his opposition. Another FPÖ leader said that after the historic defeat he should resign, although this was rejected by the general secretary of Nehammer’s party.

President Van der Bellen has expressed doubts in the past about the FPÖ because of its criticism of the EU and its failure to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The group opposes EU sanctions on Moscow, citing Austria’s neutrality, and many MPs walked out of a speech to parliament in Vienna last year by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.

Kickl’s projected victory is the latest in nearly a year of electoral success for European opposition parties.

Italy’s Giorgia Meloni leads a right-wing coalition as the leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy and Germany’s AfD topped elections in the eastern state of Thuringia last month. France’s National Rally won the vote in the European elections last June.

Unlike Kickl, the Italian prime minister has fully supported the EU’s defense of Ukraine in the face of an all-out Russian invasion.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel congratulated Kickl, posting a photo of the two together, while National Rally’s Marine le Pen said “this foundation is in charge of protecting the interests of the country”after votes elsewhere in Europe, it confirmed the “victory of the people everywhere”.

Geert Wilders said that times are changing, and that “identity, sovereignty, freedom and no more illegal movement / asylum” is what millions of Europeans longed for.

Kickl has been embroiled in immigration scandals in Austria and has capitalized on anger over the government’s handling of the Covid pandemic, embracing conspiracy theories about the vague treatment of the virus.

For Kickl and his party, victory in Sunday’s election represents a remarkable recovery from 2019, when they came out a distant third after a video scandal engulfed their former leader.