Austria – parliamentary elections. What result

Sunday's vote saw the election of 183 new deputies to the Austrian National Council.

Any citizen over 16 years of age could vote. The first polling stations opened at 6 a.m., the last ones closed at 5 p.m.

Polls exit poll clearly indicate the victory of the nationalist FPOe – a group with a strong anti-EU profile, which in its election program focused on nationalist and anti-immigrant slogans. According to updated data, FPOe won 29.1 percent. votes, which may translate into 57 seats in the National Council.

The next places were taken by: OeVP (26.3% and 52 seats), Social Democratic Party Austria (SPOe; 20.9% and 40 seats), New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS; 8.8% and 17 seats) and the Greens (8.7% and 17 seats). Five of the 12 parties running in the elections exceeded the four percent electoral threshold. Those that did not include the Communist Party of Austria (KPOe) and the satirical Beer Party (Bierpartei).

“If these results are confirmed, the victory of (Herbert – ed.) Kickel's party may turn out to be pyrrhic, because the 55-year-old is a polarizing figure and other party leaders may not want to cooperate with him. So far, he has not given any signals that he would step down to be sure that his party will lead the government,” Reuters analyzes.

After publishing the estimated voting results, FPOe leader Herbert Kickl thanked his party's voters and declared that it was ready to form a government. He referred to the announcements of other parties that exclude entering into a coalition with FPoe: – You should actually ask (…) what they think about democracy.

He refused to answer the question whether he believed the president would entrust him with the mission of forming a government.

The current chancellor, Karl Nehammer, admitted his defeat in the elections. – Unfortunately, we did not manage to take first place – he admitted during the election evening. – In the future, we will have to consider why radicals win more votes than OeVP as a centrist force – he added. Nehammer said that for now he does not want to speculate about the possible formation of a coalition.

The leader of the Social Democrats, Andreas Babler, did not want to comment on the election results. On his behalf, the chairman of SPOe at the federal level, Klaus Seltenheim, appeared on the election night, calling the FPOe's victory in the nationalist elections “a black day for democracy.” He also admitted that SPOe had suffered a painful defeat, but stipulated that Babler would remain the party chairman. – The project is not finished yet – he assured.

The Austrian Freedom Party was leading in the polls from the beginning of the election campaign. In her program she focused on nationalist and anti-immigrant slogans. In turn, the currently ruling Christian Democratic Austrian People's Party (OeVP) argued that, together with Chancellor Karl Nehammer, it was able to face numerous crises, as well as the growing inflationand promised to continue the current policy.

The opposition Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPOe) emphasized social issues such as the fight against high prices, securing housing needs and equal rights for women and sexual minorities. New Austria and the Liberal Forum (NEOS) emphasized its attachment to the idea of ​​European integration and the federal model of the EU.

The Greens, who were part of the outgoing government, focused on topics related to climate and environmental protection. The satirical Beer Party (Bierpartei) group, which wants health care reform, pension reform and an intensification of the fight against crime, may also get into parliament.