Voting in elections to the National Council, the lower house of parliament Austria, ended on Sunday at 5 p.m. Exit polls indicate a right-wing populist victory Austrian Freedom Party (FPOe).
According to preliminary data, the party won 29,1 proc. votes. International agencies report a “historic victory” as the party has been in government several times but has never won national elections.
The remaining calculations show that Five parties will most likely enter the Austrian parliament. The next places were taken by the previously ruling Christian Democrat Austrian People's Party (OeVP) with a result 26,2 proc.Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPOe) – 20,4 proc.New Austria and the Liberal Forum (NEOS) – 8,8 proc. and the Greens – 8,6 proc.
The four percent electoral threshold have not exceeded: Communist Party of Austria (KPOe) – 2.9 percent. and the Beer Party (Bierpartei) – 2.9 percent.
Parliamentary elections in Austria. Vienna's role in the EU is at stake
As Reuters points out, the advantage of the Austrian Freedom Party proves growing support for far-right parties in Europe. It was noted that the Eurosceptic, pro-Russian party FPOe for many months maintained a slight advantage in public opinion polls. The party's campaign focused mainly on concerns about immigration and the economy.
The agency emphasized that with such results there was a winner will not obtain an absolute majoritybut he will be able to apply for the right to lead the coalitionthough it is uncertain whether he will be able to form a government.
– What is at stake is whether the FPOe appoints a chancellor or not, said Kathrin Stainer-Haemmerle, professor of political science at the University of Applied Sciences in Carinthia, as quoted by Reuters. – If this happened, I must say that Austria's role in… European Union would be significantly different. Kickl (Herbert Kick, chairman of the FPOe – ed.) often said that the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban is a role model for him and will support him, she explained.
“The most important elections in Europe”. The Kremlin is watching them closely
This year's elections in Austria are described as “the most important in Europe”. “FPOe's belligerent stance towards Brussels – its leaders are flirting with the idea of 'Öxitu', Brexit in Austrian style – certainly will lead to greater tensions between the European Union and Vienna,” Politico said before the elections.
According to the media, if the Austrian Freedom Party wins, This will create a Central European bloc friendly to the Russian Federation“extending from the border of Ukraine with Slovakia and Hungary to Austria's border with Switzerland, making it easier for the president Vladimir Putin sowing discontent in the heart of Europe.
Austrian citizens went to the polls on Sunday morning. The first committees opened at 6:00 a.m. and the last ones closed at 5:00 p.m. Up for grabs in There are 183 seats in the National Councilfor which candidates from eleven registered electoral committees applied.
They had the right to vote over 6.3 million of the nine million inhabitants of Austria. In this country, anyone can take part in parliamentary elections is at least 16 years old on the day of voting and has not been deprived of this right by a court decision. You can vote in person – at a polling station, or by correspondence, but the deadline for sending votes by post was September 25.
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