Austrians cast their ballots on Sunday in a general vote that could see the way proper squander a traditional lead over the liberals in the Alpine EU country.
The Freedom Party ( FPOe ), which has topped opinion polls at 27 percent, has been in government several times, but it has never won a national vote. Even if it wins, but, it is questionable whether it would be able to form a government.
Since Herbert Kickl took over the graft-tainted gathering in 2021, it has seen its popularity rise on voter anger over movement, inflation and Covid restrictions, in line with far-right events abroad in Europe.
” I have a great feeling about now. Kickl pledged “five good years” for Austria after casting a ballot in Purkersdorf, Austria’s capital city, in the spirit of” the right” sentiment.
The ruling, conservative People’s Party ( OEVP), which has been receiving 25 % of votes, has managed to close the gap in recent weeks with the pledge to” stability instead of chaos” ( stability ).
After casting his ballot in Vienna, Nehammer said,” Issues may be solved little better with assurance than with dread.
– ‘ Evokes up concerns’-
Polling booths opened at 7: 00 am ( 0500 GMT ) and the last ones are due to close at 5: 00 pm. Soon after that, forecasts based on postal ballot and ballot counts from stations that nearby earlier should be made public.
More than 6.3 million citizens of Austria’s nine million citizens are eligible to vote.
” The FPOe generally stirs up concerns and never has anything creative to contribute”, scientist Theres Friesacher, 29, told AFP after voting in Vienna, citing bribery scandals that have often engulfed the group.
The FPOe’s second state with the liberals in 2000, which was much a political power in Austria, sparked widespread demonstrations and sanctions from Brussels.
Since therefore, far-right events have been on the rise throughout Europe, with cheerful governments mostly on the army after a series of problems, including the Covid crisis and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
At the FPOe’s last campaign event in front of Vienna’s principal temple on Friday, Kickl was cheered on by his many followers.
Among the group, shop director Walter Gerhard Piranty told AFP that he was intrigued by Kickl’s “asceticism”, saying he was” a big different” among officials” who are frequently debauched or corrupt”.
In his speech, Kickl slammed 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.
Their junior coalition partner, the Greens, now stand at eight percent in opinion polls, or almost half that which they received in 2019.
– No’ people’s chancellor’-
However, analysts generally believe that even if the FPOe wins the most seats, it will still need partners to run the country.
Nehammer has reiterated his refusal to work under Kickl, who has called himself the future” Volkskanzler”, the people’s chancellor, as Adolf Hitler was termed in the 1930s.
A third party, likely the liberal NEOS, could be in charge of thwarting a Kickl chancellorship, which would include an unprecedented three-party coalition led by the OeVP, the Social Democrats, who are currently polling just above 20 percent, and a third party.
Analysts predict a coalition with the far right as a junior partner if the OeVP, which has been a part of every government since 1987, wins the most seats or performs almost as well as the FPOe.
The political memory of Austria is very brief. I expect that it will come to a OeVP-FPOe coalition, which is worrisome”, health consultant Bernd Lunglmayr, told AFP in Vienna before voting.
Both past OeVP-FPOe governments were short-lived.
After only a year and a half in power, the last one, led by charismatic then-OeVP leader Sebastian Kurz, fell over a spectacular FPOe corruption scandal in 2019.
Trending
- Who Is Jeff Flake? The conservative Republican Who endorsed Kamala Harris
- US retailers brace for pain from a longshoremen’s strike
- Latest talks between Boeing and its striking machinists break off without progress, union says
- Disney ‘Tangled’, Shazam Actor Endorses Trump
- In historic first, Putin-friendly far-right Freedom Party wins Austria elections
- Former Republican senator Jeff Flake backs Kamala Harris in 2024 US presidential elections
- 6 dead in Rwanda due to Marburg outbreak: All you need to know about the deadly virus
- Kari Lake’s daughter assaulted at Arizona State U. voter registration drive
Austrians vote with far right in sight of historic win
Head of Freedom Party ( FPOe ) Herbert Kickl attends their final election rally in Vienna, Austria, September 27, 2024. ( Reuters )
Keep Reading
Sign up for the Conservative Insider Newsletter.
Get the latest conservative news from alancmoore.com
© 2024 alancmoore.com