Far-right party makes gains in Austrian national vote: projections

Austria's far-right was ahead of the ruling conservatives in the national vote, according to projections published by public broadcaster ORF, setting them up for a historic win in the Alpine EU nation.

The Freedom Party (FPOe) has been in government several times but has never won a national vote.

Even if it wins, however, it is uncertain whether it would be able to form a government.

The FPOe stood at 29.1 percent of votes, against 26.2 percent for the conservative People's Party (OeVP), according to projections based on postal voting and vote counts from stations that closed earlier Sunday.

Since Herbert Kickl took over the graft-tainted party in 2021, it has seen its popularity rebound on voter anger over migration, inflation and Covid restrictions, in line with far-right parties elsewhere in Europe.

"I have a good feeling about today. I believe the vibe is right and the vibe will turn into votes," Kickl told reporters after voting in Purkersdorf just outside Vienna, pledging "five good years" for Austria.

Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who managed to close the gap to the FPOe in recent weeks in opinion polls, has promised "stability instead of chaos".

"Problems can be solved much better with confidence than with fear," Nehammer said after casting his vote in Vienna.

Rise of far-right

Polling booths opened at (0500 GMT) and the last ones closed at 1500 GMT.

More than 6.3 million of Austria's nine million inhabitants were eligible to vote.

Long a political force in Austria, the FPOe's first government with the conservatives in 2000 set off widespread protests and sanctions from Brussels.

Since then, far-right parties have been on the rise throughout Europe, with outgoing governments largely on the defence after a series of crises, including the Covid pandemic and Ukraine war.

Kickl regularly slams EU sanctions against Russia, espoused the far-right concept of "remigration" that calls for expelling people of non-European ethnic backgrounds deemed to have failed to integrate, and raged against the outgoing government.

During the height of the 2015 migrant crisis, Austria alongside Germany and Sweden was one of the preferred destinations for refugees and has been ever since.

Meanwhile, the conservative OeVP's support has plunged from more than 37 percent in the last national election in 2019.