Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) is set to come out on top in the European country’s national election on Sunday, according to early projections, marking the first-time a far-right party has won since the Nazis first came to power in Europe nearly eight decades ago.
The FPÖ had led in opinion polls for months, but the race was close with conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) of current Chancellor Karl Nehammer narrowly behind. While FPÖ came out on top, it will need to form a coalition government in order to lead the country, and it’s unclear whether that will be possible.
Herbert Kickl, the leader of the FPÖ, has used the term “Volkskanzler,” which translates to “chancellor of the people,” to describe himself. The term was used by the Nazis for their leader Adolf Hitler. FPÖ’s first leader, Anton Reinthaller, who served in that role from 1956 to 1958, was a former Nazi functionary and SS officer.
“The voter has spoken. Change is wanted in our country,” FPÖ general secretary Michael Schnedlitz said, shortly after early projections showed his party winning, German broadcaster Deutsche-Welle (DW) reported. The projections showed FPÖ winning about 29.1 percent, compared to the ÖVP’s 26.2 percent. The exit poll is believed to be accurate within a margin of plus or minus 1.5 percent.
Newsweek reached out to the FPÖ and Nehammer’s press representatives for comment via email on Sunday.
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“Being the prime political force in the Austrian parliament doesn’t get FPÖ in government,” Antonia Colibasanu, a senior analyst at Geopolitical Futures, told Newsweek in an email. “The Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) is the only party that has been more nuanced…in its view on entering a coalition with the FPÖ.”
Although FPÖ may not ultimately lead the government, its growing popularity has already had an impact on Austria’s politics—particularly when it comes to the issues of immigration, views on the European Union (EU) and Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
Colibasanu explained the party’s growth has “determined the ÖVP harsher policies towards migration and the rejection of the Schengen expansion to Romania and Bulgaria, even if, unlike the FPÖ, the ÖVP is pro-EU and supports the EU stance on Russia.”
Kickl’s party previously won a nationwide vote in Austria for the European Parliament’s elections, which also saw far-right parties do well in several EU nations. The FPÖ is skeptical of the EU and wants to implement stricter rules on asylum seekers. It has called for suspending the right to asylum as well as the “remigration of uninvited foreigners,” the Associated Press reported.
When it comes to Ukraine, the FPÖ has called for ending sanctions on Russia and has been critical of continued support for Kyiv as it fights back against Moscow’s aggression. Kickl’s party also wants to remove Austria from a German-led missile defense program called European Sky Shield.
“The FPÖ political rhetoric uses Austrian neutrality to explain its anti-EU, pro-Russian stance. They argue that the EU’s economic war against Russia violates Austria’s neutrality,” Colibasanu said, adding that the party believes Austria’s “economic development relies heavily on its relations with Russia.”
“With the FPÖ as the most dominant party in parliament, Austria is anticipated to continue adopting efforts to curtail anti-Russia measure without necessarily acting against Ukraine,” the Geopolitical Futures analyst said.
Hitler was born in Austria but rose to become the chancellor of Germany in 1933, ultimately leading his Nazi party to take full control of the country. Austria was annexed into the German Reich in 1938, in what is known as the Anschluss, with both countries being believed at the time to form a “Greater Germany.”