Far-right Freedom Party leads Austria's general poll

The first results from Austria's parliamentary election held here on Sunday showed that the far-right Freedom Party is leading the national vote and set to secure its first-ever general election win.

The Freedom Party is projected to win 29.1 percent of the vote, well ahead of the ruling conservative People's Party with 26.2 percent of support, according to a projection published by Austrian broadcaster ORF and news agency APA shortly after the polls closed at 5 p.m. local time.

This marked a significant gain for the Freedom Party compared to the general election in 2019 when the party garnered 16.2 percent of support. The People's Party, however, received a major blow, as it received 37.5 percent of the vote in the previous election.

Sunday's historic victory testifies to the ever-growing strength and popularity of the Freedom Party, which won over 25 percent of the vote in Austria's European Parliament election in June and came first in a nationwide ballot for the first time. The party has tapped into voter anger over Austria's lingering economic woes, migration crisis and COVID-19 restrictions in its election campaign.

"Voters have spoken with authority," leader of Freedom Party Herbert Kickl said on ORF after the projection was released, adding that the country must reconnect with people's needs.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said at a press conference that the job of his People's Party is "to figure out why radicalized people are getting more votes than those of us who represent centrist strength and reason."

The ORF/APA projection put the Social Democratic Party firmly in third place in Sunday's election with 20.4 percent of the vote, down from 21.2 percent in the 2019 election.

Andreas Babler, chairman of the Social Democratic Party, expressed disappointment in one of the party's worst results in a general election.

Also among the losers is the Greens, which, according to the first projection, came down to 8.6 percent from 13.9 percent in 2019. The Greens was part of the outgoing coalition government with the People's Party.

The liberal NEOS party is projected to run neck-and-neck with the Greens with 8.8 percent of the vote, slightly better than its performance in the previous election.

Around 6.35 million people were eligible to vote in Sunday's general election, where 183 delegates would be chosen for Austria's National Council, the lower house of the country's parliament.

UNCLEAR COALITION PROSPECT

No party has secured an absolute majority in Sunday's election, which opens the door to coalition talks. Even with its historic win, it is uncertain whether the Freedom Party will be able to find coalition partners to govern.

Before the election, all other major parties had repeatedly ruled out joining a government led by the Freedom Party. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen also expressed reluctance to appoint Kickl to lead the country.

Regarding the coalition options, Kickl said on Sunday night that "Our hand is outstretched in all directions."

However, Christian Stocker, secretary general of the People's Party, said on Sunday night that his party remains opposed to a coalition with the Freedom Party under Kickl's leadership.

Analysts say to thwart a Kickl chancellorship, the People's Party could join forces with the Social Democrats and a third party, NEOS or the Greens, to form an unprecedented three-party coalition.