Polls have closed  in Austria on Sunday following a general election , with the first projections indicating the a historic victory for the far-right over the governing conservatives.

Predictions by Institut Foresight put the FPÖ at over 29% of the vote, a slightly better result than expected in the surveys done ahead of the Sunday polls. If the projection is confirmed, the FPÖ will have the most seats in the new Austrian parliament.

FPÖ ready to negotiate with other parties

On Sunday evening, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl said his party was ready to negotiate with other political forces.

"We are also ready to lead a government," he told public broadcaster ORF, saying it was now up to other parties to answer "where they stand on democracy."

He also said the voters clearly expressed that "you can't just go on like this in this country."

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen also told political parties to hold talks to form government.

"Now it's about reaching out to each other, talking to each other, negotiating to find good, solid compromises. Finding these solutions can take time, and ladies and gentlemen, it is time well spent," he said.

The incumbent ÖVP — center-right conservatives led by Chancellor Karl Nehammer — also scored better than expected, securing 26.2%, with center-left Social Democrats at 20.4%. The Greens, who are part of the ruling coalition with the conservatives, seem set to secure 8.6% of support.

The early projections were published minutes after the polls closed, with the actual results still to come. However, Chancellor  Nehammer conceded defeat by Sunday evening. He said he was "bitter" about his party missing the top spot, but noted that it has recovered compared to its previous poll ratings.

Nehammer rejects working with FPÖ's Kickl

Immigration concerns and an economic downturn have dominated the electoral landscape in the Alpine EU nation. Under the election program titled "Fortress Austria", the FPÖ is calling for more deportations of "uninvited foreigners" and suspending the right to asylum with an emergency law. They also urged ending sanctions against Russia.

The party also prompted outrage a day ahead of the election, when three of its senior leaders attended a funeral which included a song popular among the Nazis. A video showing the FPÖ politicians at the funeral was published in the local media, though it was not clear if they sang along. Austria's Jewish Students' Union said it had reported the incident to prosecutors and called it an "alarm signal for Austria."

During the campaign, Nehammer sought to portray FPÖ's Kickl as a toxic extremist and said he would not be working with him, but signaled the conservatives could cooperate with the FPÖ as a whole.

On Sunday, the incumbent chancellor doubled down on his rejection of Kickl.

"What I said before the election I also say after the election," Nehammer said.

Kickl capitalizes on pandemic, migration, inflation

The far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) has been in government several times but it has never topped a national vote before Sunday.

Former interior minister Herbert Kickl has served as the head of the party since 2021.

Under his abrasive leadership, the party — which was hit by a massive graft scandal in 2019 — has seen its popularity rebound on voter anger and anxieties over COVID restrictions, migration, inflation and the Ukraine war.

Kickl cast his vote on Sunday afternoon, saying he had "a good feeling" about the election outcome, adding that "the mood is right, and the right mood will turn into votes."

But the FPÖ leader was evasive when asked by reporters if he was willing to step down for the good of his party. Kickl said he would "always accept the voters' decision, whatever happens."

FPÖ could still be blocked from government

Analysts say even if the FPÖ wins the most votes, it will likely not have enough seats or partners to form a government. A three-way coalition between the conservatives, Social Democrats and the liberal NEOS could also be a possibility.

Voting began at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and finished ten hours later. Over 6.3 million people of Austria's 9 million residents were eligible to vote.

The head of Germany's far-right AfD party, Alice Weidel, congratulated FPÖ after the projections were published. The German party, which shares large elements of its ideology with FPÖ, also marked major strides in three seperate state elections in Germany this month.

dvv,dj/nm (AFP, dpa)