FPÖ triumphs in Austrian National Council elections
In Austria, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) led by Herbert Kickl won the National Council elections. According to the first projections by ORF at 5 p.m., the FPÖ is clearly ahead with 29.1 percent of the vote. For the first time in its history, the Freedom Party is the strongest force in a National Council election. Over 6.3 million eligible voters were called upon to elect a new parliament in the Alpine republic.
The conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) of incumbent Chancellor Karl Nehammer suffered significant losses and came in second with 26.3 percent, followed by the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) with 20.9 percentTheir coalition partner, the Greens, also suffered significant losses. They only achieved 8.7 percent, while the left-liberal NEOS gained slightly to 8.8 percent. The left-wing beer party of musician and cabaret artist Dominik Wlazny (aka Marco Pogo) failed to enter parliament with 2.1 percent, as did the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) with 2.9 percent.
Despite the likely election victory, the formation of a government remains uncertain. So far, all parties except the ÖVP have ruled out a coalition under Kickl's leadership. Difficult coalition negotiations are expected. Possible scenarios include an FPÖ-ÖVP coalition, although the ÖVP has so far refused to work with Kickl. Should a black-blue coalition nevertheless come about, either the ÖVP would have to move or Kickl would have to consider withdrawing. Both seem unlikely at this point in time. Alliances such as a three-party coalition of the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS.
There are currently several ÖVP-FPÖ coalitions at the state level. It remains very questionable whether the ÖVP will enter into such an alliance again at the federal level - especially with an FPÖ that, should it become the strongest force, will claim the chancellorship. The relationship between the two parties has been deeply strained since the Ibiza scandal. Kurz had arranged for Kickl to be dismissed as interior minister after the video became known in 2019.
he FPÖ has been part of an Austrian federal government three times, including two coalition governments with the ÖVP. From 2000 to 2005, the FPÖ was part of the government under Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel. The coalition ended prematurely due to internal conflicts within the FPÖ. From 2017 to 2019, the FPÖ was again a junior partner in a coalition, this time under Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. This government collapsed due to the so-called Ibiza affair.
Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen now plays a decisive role. The former Green politician announced in the run-up to the election that he would not automatically give the FPÖ the mandate to govern, even if it became the strongest force. This would be a break with previous tradition in Austria. Van der Bellen could also refuse to swear in Herbert Kickl as chancellor or minister.
Source: Apollo News
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