The Far-right gain a historic victory in Austrian elections

The far right achieved a historic victory in the legislative elections in Austria, Sunday, five years after its defeat, but without securing a sufficient majority to enable it to govern.

The right-wing Freedom Party led by Herbert Kickl won 29.1% of the vote, a jump of 13 points compared to the previous election in 2019, with more than half the votes counted.

“The message from voters is very clear,” Kickl told public broadcaster ORF, adding, “We’re in contact with all parties”.

Kickl expressed regret that his voters were treated as “second-class citizens”.

In contrast, the leader of the ruling conservative People’s Party, Chancellor Karl Nehammer, expressed disappointment following the defeat after gaining 26.3%.

Karl Nehammer told his supporters regretfully that “we were unable to catch up with the far right”.

At the Freedom Party headquarters, the atmosphere was more cheerful as supporters celebrated.

The Freedom Party suffered a setback in 2019 due to the high-profile Ibiza affair scandal, but it recovered with the support of Herbert Kickl, who exploited the wave of social and economic fear sweeping the European continent.

Kickl, who is close to some of the groups that are facing heavy criticism, advocates a project to strip Austrians of foreign origin of their citizenship, and wants to be called “Volkskansler” (People’s Chancellor) in the style of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

The 55-year-old former interior minister has managed to attract anti-vaxxers with his statements against Covid-19 measures, as well as the poorest of the poor hit by the inflation crisis and supporters of Austrian neutrality by denouncing sanctions on Russia.