Austrian People's Party wins parliamentary elections
October 15, 2017
At just 31, Sebastian Kurz appears set to become Austria's next chancellor after his People's Party won the most votes in parliamentary elections. The far-right Freedom Party may be key to his government.
Image: Reuters/H.-P.Bader
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The People's Party (ÖVP) won 31.6percent of the vote in Sunday's parliamentary elections, marking a major victory for the 31-year-old Kurz, according to the latest vote count by state broadcaster ORF.
If the ÖVP keeps that vote count, they're set to lead parliament with at least 62 seats.
"I can promise you today that I will fight for change in this country with all my power," Kurz told supporters at a rally. "I accept this responsibility with great humility."
The right coalition
The far-right, anti-immigration Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) came in third place with 26percent, amounting to 51 seats, while the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) managed to garner 26.9percent, placing them in second with 53 seats.
"It shows that we have arrived at the center of society. We are the ones that dominate the political debate," said FPÖ chief Heinz-Christian Strache.
Kurz's ÖVP is expected to form a government with the far-right FPÖ, after he ended a grand coalition government with the center-left SPÖ earlier this year. It would mark the first time the far-right party enters government since 2000. A final vote count is expected Thursday.
'Other options'
Kurz suggested he is open to talks with other parties. "I would of course like to form a stable government. If that cannot be done then there are other options," Kurz told ORD.
Finance Minister Hans Jörg Schelling, a member of the ÖVP, told DW that the center-right party - as a whole - is open to talks with both the FPÖ and the Social Democrats. Meanwhile, SPÖ chief Christian Kern said he will stay on as his party's leader despite losing to his government's junior coalition partner.
Greens out?
The New Austrian and Liberal Forum (NEOS) picked up 5.1 percent of the vote, amounting to 10 seats, which remains roughly unchanged from the 2013 election.
The Green Party took a beating, losing 8.5 percent compared to the 2013 election. The Greens managed to garner 3.9 percent of the vote, which isn't enough to make it into parliament.
The Greens' lead candidate Ulrike Lunacek said the election result has been difficult to stomach, describing it as a "heavy defeat and a great disappointment." However, an offshoot party led by former Greens member Peter Pilz managed to gain 4.4 percent of the vote, amounting to 8 seats.
How radical is Europe's right?
Sluggish economic growth, dissatisfaction over the European Union's policies and the migration crisis have led to the electoral success of right-wing parties across Europe.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Frauke Petry, Alternative for Germany (AfD)
The leader of the Alternative for Germany, Frauke Petry, said police could use guns as a last resort to prevent illegal border crossings, pointing out "that's the law." What began as a euroskeptic party has turned into an anti-establishment and anti-EU force, claiming up to 25 percent of votes in German state elections in March 2016 and taking second place in Chancellor Angela Merkel's home state.
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Marine Le Pen, National Front (France)
Many believe Brexit and Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential elections could give new impetus to France's National Front. Established in 1972 and now led by Marine Le Pen, who took over from her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in 2011, the National Front is a nationalist party that uses populist rhetoric to promote its anti-immigration and anti-EU positions.
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Geert Wilders, Party for Freedom (The Netherlands)
The leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders, is one of Europe's most prominent right-wing politicians. He was convicted in December for asking a crowd in 2014 if they wanted more or fewer Moroccans in the country, but no penalty was imposed. His party is considered anti-EU and anti-Islam. It is leading polls ahead of next year's parliamentary elections and currently holds 15 seats.
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Nikos Michaloliakos, Golden Dawn (Greece)
Nikos Michaloliakos is the head of Greece's neo-fascist party Golden Dawn. He was arrested in September 2013 along with dozens of other party members and charged with forming a criminal organization. Michaloliakos was released in July 2015. Golden Dawn won 18 seats in parliamentary elections in September 2016. The party holds anti-immigrant views and favors a defense agreement with Russia.
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Gabor Vona, Jobbik (Hungary)
Hungary's anti-immigration, populist and economic protectionist party Jobbik aspires to be in the government by 2018. Now Hungary's third-largest party, it won 20 percent of votes in the last elections held in 2014. It wants a referendum on EU membership. Jobbik also advocates criminalizing "sexual deviancy," submitting a bill targeting homosexuals in 2012. Jobbik is headed by Gabor Vona.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
Jimmie Akesson, Sweden Democrats
After Trump's election, Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson said in an interview with Swedish TV: "There is a movement in both Europe and the United States where the establishment is being challenged. It is clearly happening here as well." The Sweden Democrats call for restricting immigration, are against allowing Turkey to join the EU and want a referendum on EU membership.
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Norbert Hofer, Freedom Party (Austria)
Norbert Hofer of Austria's nationalist Freedom Party lost the recent presidential runoff by a mere 30,000 votes, after being front-runner in the first round. Former Green party leader Alexander Van der Bellen won 50.3 percent of the vote, with Hofer gaining 49.7 percent. The Freedom Party's leader campaigns for the strengthening of the country's borders and limiting benefits for immigrants.
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Marian Kotleba, People's Party - Our Slovakia
The leader of the hard-right People's Party - Our Slovakia, Marian Kotleba, has said, "Even one immigrant is one too many." On another occasion, he called NATO a "criminal organization." This Slovak party favors leaving the EU as well as the eurozone. It won 8 percent of the vote in March 2016 elections, securing 14 seats in the country's 150-member parliament.
That year, Austria was used as a gateway for nearly 900,000 migrants making their way to Germany. It also received more than 68,000 applications for asylum in 2015, one of the highest proportions on the continent compared to the population.
While the center-left SPÖ campaigned on a track record of lowering unemployment and of economic growth, Kurz's ÖVP promised to prevent a repeat of 2015's wave of migration and cut access to social welfare benefits for newcomers for at least five years.
In a poll by state broadcaster ORF, 55 percent of respondents that voted for the ÖVP said they did so because of their stance on asylum and integration.
