For the first time, the far right has won the general elections in Austria.

Bludenz (Austria) The extreme right has won a general election in Austria for the first time with 28.8% support, its best historical result and 12% more ballots than in the elections five years ago. However, it is not so clear that they can rule.

The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) will only be able to take over the Austrian Chancellery if it manages to persuade the Austrian People’s Party (OVP, for its acronym in German), led by current Chancellor Karl Nehammer, to vote, which received 26.3%. Have done. Vote. He will have the keys to the government, but he may also fight to remain chancellor with the support of the Socialists and perhaps a third party, the Liberals or the Greens.

The winning force in the elections is a far-right, Eurosceptic formation with ties to Russia that has already won the European elections in May. And their candidate, the winner of the election, is Herbert Kickl, an eccentric politician with Nazi memories who is viewed by the populace as a threat to Austria’s security.

But the two right-wing parties share similarities in terms of policies, especially on economic matters and immigration policy, so it would not seem impossible for Austria to have a far-right chancellor for the first time. And it would be nothing new for these two structures to cooperate. The FPÖ was already in power in coalition with the Austrian People’s Party between 2017 and 2019, when Sebastian Kurz was chancellor. And in that government, now the extremist candidate was the interior minister.

Three alternatives to the Austrian People’s Party

For now, the Conservatives are sticking to their position of not being in favor of an alliance with Kikal. The current Chancellor has assured that he will not support “Kikal’s political methods”, but believes that “the concerns of voters who voted for the FPÖ should be taken seriously.” So, as the days go by, Nehmer can either support the candidate, forcing the far right to propose an alternative candidate or seek a triumvirate with the Socialists – who received 21 percent of the vote. Could – and one of the minority parties: the neoliberals or the Greens, who have 9.20 and 8.30 percent support respectively.

As the polls had already predicted, the Socialists have fallen to third place with 21% of the votes, although in reality they have the same support as in the previous elections. Its candidate Andreas Babler is in such trouble to such an extent that his party colleagues may ask him to resign tomorrow. However, he has approached conservatives to form a coalition that “will not allow Austria to go in the same direction as Hungary.” Entering the government would be a saving grace for the Socialists and possibly for their candidate as well.

The Liberals, with Kikal in fourth place, are the other winners on election day. They have gained one more point and their candidate Beata Meier-Risinger, the only woman seeking to become chancellor, described herself as willing to seek government alternatives with the conservatives to keep Austria “in the center” and develop the country. Has shown.

The night’s victims also included The Greens, who are currently in government with the conservatives, who are in retreat in Austria in the latest election calls. They are now in fifth place, below the NEOS Liberals, with 8.3 percent of the vote and 5 points lower than in the previous election. Its candidate has found this setback in the European trend and taken it as a mandate to continue the fight, while also offering cooperation.

Awaiting regional results

A total of 6.3 million Austrians – those over the age of 16 – were called to vote this Sunday. 78 percent of voters called to vote participated. Polling stations in Vienna are open until 5:00 pm, but voters in most rural areas of the country, such as Vorarlberg, have been called upon to cast their ballots before 12:00 pm.

Voting in the small municipality of Vandans, where the Freedom Party has ruled for more than 20 years, was 26-year-old Cornelia, who admitted in statements to La María about the direction her country could take. I am worried. “I think it’s very important that we all go to vote today and that we vote not for Kikal, but for some other party, whoever it is, so that it does not get this power that it did in the first place. But if not, things may remain good for Austria and I see a very dangerous future.”

In the neighboring city of Bartholomew, where anti-foreigner graffiti has emerged in recent days, 16-year-old Lily was voting for the first time. “I’m a little nervous to see what the results will be. I don’t want to say who I voted for, but I do say that the most important thing for me is protecting the environment and that’s something that all people have.” equal rights. All people are equal; No one involved in the government can ignore this.

This opinion is not shared by 39-year-old Hungarian-German Christian, who is not able to vote because he does not have Austrian nationality but still supports Kickl. “I am not a foreigner. I feel at home here, I fit in here, I speak the language, I’m working. I am not a foreigner because I am Germanic, I am Indo-Germanic and European,” he says, with a speech that, like the Austrian extreme right, appeals to the defense of traditional Austrian values ​​to justify rejection of migration. Is. ,

To see who and how the government is established in Austria and if the extreme right eventually comes to power, we will have to wait for the negotiations, which will certainly remain blurry until another mystery is revealed in the regional elections. Does not become clear. Elections will be held in the Vorarlberg region in two weeks and later in Styria. It likely won’t be known until then whether Austria joins its neighbors Slovakia and Hungary in the EU’s pro-Russian axis or, conversely, joins with conservative socialists to steer the country away from extremism.