The Rise of the Austrian Far-Right
For the first time since the Second World War, the Austrian far-right has been tasked to lead the country. For The Freedom Party, or FPÖ, a far-right party with origins from former SS members and with a leader, Herbert Kickl, stylized as Volkskanzler in a subtle nod to fascist imagery, their September legislative victory is the culmination of decades of work. It has brought the far-right into the Austrian mainstream. With negotiations on forming a government and ruling majority ongoing, it remains to be seen how much of the FPÖ’s radical platform will be implemented, especially given the current Austrian deficit crisis.
Due to a decline in support for the ruling ÖVP-Green party coalition, triggered by corruption scandals, economic stagnation, and a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, the FPÖ would have its greatest legislative victory in the history of the party. The FPÖ received 28.8% of the popular vote and 57 out of 183 seats, a 12.7% and 26-seat increase from the 2019 elections. Meanwhile, the former ruling party, ÖVP, while capturing 26.3% of the electorate and 20 seats, faced a loss of 11.2% and 20 seats from the previous election. The center-left Social Democratic Party of Austria, receiving 21.1% of the vote, increased its seats held by one to 41.
The rise in the FPÖ’s support in the last five years is notable due to its increasing appeal among younger voters, signaling a shift away from the traditional older voter base of many far-right parties across Europe. The FPÖ has increasingly begun to use social media as an effective platform; they have 216,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel and remain active on Facebook and TikTok. The results of their increased young-voter messaging are clear. 27% of young voters voted for the FPÖ, up from 20% in the previous election while the FPÖ claimed 37% of middle-aged voters, nearly double that of the ÖVP and up 16% from the previous election. If trends continue, the FPÖ will likely remain a key player in Austrian politics, opening the way for a majority government to be formed.
Although the FPÖ’s bid to form a ruling coalition failed under Austria’s first-ever three-party coalition, Kickl, the prospective chancellor has been quite outspoken about what an FPÖ-led Austria would entail. The FPÖ has been vocal about its strong anti-immigration policies, a position that has only increased in popularity in the wake of anti-immigrant sentiment, fueled by incidents like the foiled 2024 Vienna terrorist plots. The FPÖ supports ending all asylum applications, converting asylum status into temporary residency, and rejecting the EU’s Pact on Migration and Asylum. While the FPÖ’s main increase in support has been the result on their anti-immigration rhetoric, the FPÖ’s pledge to cut taxes on small businesses from 23% to 10%, implementation of price controls on food, rent, and energy to counteract inflation, and pension increases, their economic populism has also garnered them support. The FPÖ also opposes climate change efforts, touting plans to eliminate Austria’s carbon tax and a rejection of the EU’s proposed European Green Deal.
In addition to their domestic policies, the FPÖ’s foreign policies have also drawn considerable attention. The FPÖ has supported Russian natural gas imports, even as Russian imports have been halted. The FPÖ has opposed foreign military aid to Ukraine, pledging to block any use of the EU’s European Peace Facility, a fund used to pay for security investments, for Ukrainian military assistance. And while the FPÖ has attempted to distance themselves from their 2016 “Friendship Treaty” with Putin’s United Russia Party, the FPÖ continues to call for the easement of Western sanctions on Russia.
The FPÖ, while elected with a plurality during the recent elections, has had a complicated history within Austrian politics. The FPÖ’s first two chairmen were former members of the Nazi SS. While the FPÖ initially distanced itself from their far-right roots, positioning themselves as a center-right, national liberal party, by 1986 they had firmly established themselves in Austrian politics as a far-right, populist, and anti-elite party. The FPÖ had their best electoral showing in the 1999 elections, securing 26.9% of the votes and a junior partnership with the conservative Austrian People's Party, or ÖVP.
Their 1999 election victory received major backlash from the EU. For the first time in their history, the EU placed diplomatic sanctions on a member state, citing the 1997 Amsterdam treaty that allows members to be suspended for "serious and persistent breach" of the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. While the sanctions were lifted shortly after, it damaged the FPÖ’s vote share within Austria with many voters flocking to the more moderate ÖVP.
The FPÖ would see limited electoral victories until the 2017 elections, securing 26% of the vote share and a place within the ÖVP’s coalition. The FPÖ’s time in this coalition would see it be marred by scandal; Kickl, then the Minister of the Interior, was met with opposition from foreign intelligence services after he ordered an illegal raid on Austria's domestic intelligence service in 2018. Soon after, the FPÖ’s former leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, resigned as a result of the Ibiza affair, a 2019 scandal where he was exposed offering Austrian government contracts in exchange for Russian oligarch funding. After the Ibiza Affair, the FPÖ would find itself with collapsing support and out of the ruling coalition until the September 2024 legislative elections.
One of the largest concerns from foreign observers has been the FPÖ’s support for other far-right parties across Europe. The FPÖ has entered into close relations with other far-right parties, with the FPÖ being a founding member of the new EU Parliamentary Group named Patriots for Europe. Notable far-right European parties such as Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, Marie Le Pen’s Nationally Rally, and Czechia’s ANO are all members. While the FPÖ does not endorse a total withdrawal from the EU, like other far-right allies, they have expressed some Euroscepticism, suggesting that the EU’s authority and reach should be heavily reduced. The FPÖ’s victory may also have significant implications on neighboring Germany, whose Federal elections in late February may see the rise of the AfD, a similar far-right party. Voters there may be emboldened by the FPÖ victory, as the AfD is already calling for center-right parties to enter coalition talks—a move similar to current ÖVP and FPÖ negotiations.
While the FPÖ has visions for a radically changed Austria, the most pressing issue facing FPÖ is that despite winning a plurality in the legislative elections, the FPÖ has been unable to come to an agreement with the ÖVP on forming a governing coalition. Although Christian Stocker, the newly appointed leader of the ÖVP, led the party into talks with the FPÖ after the ÖVP's first attempt to form a coalition government with the Social Democrats and the liberal NEOS party failed, negotiations between the two sides were unsuccessful due to disputes over ministerial appointments. Stocker's ÖVP then resumed talks with the Social Democrats and NEOS, sealing Austria's first three-party coalition since World War II. This may be the FPÖ's biggest headache for the foreseeable future. Despite a growing electoral base, the collective action of other political parties has effectively limited the FPÖ's political ambitions by excluding it from the ruling government.
The victory of the FPÖ follows the increasing rise of far-right politics across Europe. While the FPÖ controls a plurality in the legislature and is in charge of forming a government, months of negotiations have stalled with the FPÖ unable to start its transformation of Austria. Additionally, the FPÖ’s rise may also threaten the European establishment with their embracement of the illiberal democracies of Russia and Hungary. The events of the next four years will be transformative for Austria, with the impact of this election likely to be felt globally for years to come.