Austria far right eyes historic victory in tight polls

VIENNA: Austria´s general election on Sunday is shaping up to be a close race which could see the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) win for the first time, beating the ruling conservatives.

In line with other European far-right parties, the radical FPOe has seen its popularity surge in recent months.

The FPOe has been part of past Austrian coalitions, but it may not find partners to lead a government, even if it comes first on Sunday.

“It is a time of change. In the past years the FPOe has never been that strong,” Johanna Irrenfried, 32, an orthoptist from Vienna, told AFP.

Cementing the FPOe´s image as an anti-establishment party, its leader Herbert Kickl has campaigned on slogans such as “Courageously try something new” and fed on voter anger over migration, inflation and Covid restrictions.

But conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer has closed the gap in recent weeks, with his People´s Party (OeVP) currently at 25 percent in opinion poll support, just behind the FPOe on 27 percent.

Nehammer has “succeeded in presenting the party as at the centre of the political spectrum,” Andreas Eisl, researcher at the Jacques Delors Institute said.