By Axios | Created at 2024-09-30 05:44:53 | Updated at 2024-09-30 11:32:45
6 hours ago
Austria's Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl hailed a "new era" after preliminary results showed Sunday that the FPÖ had become the first far-right party to win in the country's parliamentary election since World War II, per EuroNews.
The big picture: Although the FPÖ's win reflects a growing trend across Europe that's seen voters lean toward anti-immigration, populist parties, the party is unlikely to form a coalition government as required by Austrian law.
- That's because all other parties have ruled out forming a coalition with the FPO, with the exception of Chancellor Karl Nehammer's outgoing conservative People's Party (ÖVP). And Nehammer won't work with Kickl, citing the FPO leader's beliefs in conspiracy theories.
- "You can't run a state sensibly and responsibly with him," Nehammer said, per EuroNews. "And I still stand by that."
By the numbers: The FPÖ won 28.8% of the vote and the ÖVP came second with 26.3%, according to ORF public television's projections that were based on counting of more than 97% of the vote.
Go deeper: Hard-right politics grow across the globe
