puzzle of alliances for the government – ​​

The blues, ‘die Blauen’, of the Freiheitliche Partei Öesterreichs, known as the FPÖ, have won the elections in Austria for the renewal of the Nationalrat, the National Council. At the end of the ballot, the Freedom Party of Austria led by leader Herbert Kickl obtained 28.8%: a triumph considering that in five years they gained 12.63%, above all to the detriment of the two government parties, the Greens and above all the ‘OeVP (Popular) of the outgoing Chancellor Karl Nehammer who stopped at 26.30% for one of the worst results ever.

The FPÖ has gained consensus for its hard line against anti-Covid restrictions, then for the issue of immigration, the high cost of living, and finally its opposition to support for Ukraine in the name of Austria’s neutrality. Now for Kickl, a 55 year old Carinthian, difficult days of negotiations will begin to try to find allies to form the government and, perhaps, become that much dreamed of ‘Volkskanzler’, the ‘people’s chancellor’. 21.10% of the 6.3 million eligible Austrians voted for the Social Democrats who lost just 0.08% compared to 2019.

Andreas Babler’s FPÖ was the leading party in the capital Vienna (29.9%) and in other large cities, Innsbruck, Graz, Linz and Sankt Poelten. Neos rose slightly to 9.20% (1.10% more than five years ago), like KPOe to 2.40 and Bierpartei to 2.00% (the latter two did not reach the 4% threshold to enter the National Council). The Greens fell to 8.30% for -5.60 compared to the previous consultations.

The FPÖ dominated in Carinthia, the Land where Kickl was born, reaching 38.7% (+18.9) and Styria at 32.7%. Joerg Haider’s party, nominated in the evening by Kickl, almost doubled in Klagenfurt to 31.19%, in Villach it was close to 37% (36.93%). In the small region of Burgenland FPÖ at 28.9%, OeVP at 28.7% and SPOe at 27%.

Greeted in the evening at the party headquarters with the cry “Herbert, Herbert, Herbert”, the FPOe leader said, “it is a piece of history that we have written, Joerg Haider would be proud of us” and addressing the voters he stated, ” I am deeply indebted to you.” Kickl had immediately stated, “the election result is a clear confirmation that things cannot continue like this in the country, we are ready to lead a government and ready for talks with all parties”.

Herbert Kickl, 55, a Carinthian from Villach although he lives in Purkersdorf in Lower Austria, had remained in the shadows for a long time before attracting voters with his hard line against anti-Covid restrictions and opposition to support for Ukraine when invaded by Russia in 2022 in the name of Austria’s neutrality. Kickl, direct successor of Norbert Hofer but above all of Heinz-Christian Strache (the former vice chancellor protagonist of Ibizagate), in 2017 was Interior Minister of the government led by Sebastian Kurz. Already during the election campaign he said that, if elected, he will be the ‘Volkskanzler’, the ‘people’s chancellor’, a German social democratic concept taken from Adolf Hitler. The general secretary of the OeVP, Christian Stocker is disappointed, “it is no secret that we wanted to come in first place” and the counterpart of the SPOe, Klaus Seltenheim commenting on the projections said, “it is a black day for democracy”.