Rivals seek to block Austrian far right's path to power
Austria's far-right Freedom Party must seek to clear a path to power after its first-ever parliamentary election victory left the anti-establishment outfit needing a partner to form a governing coalition.
The triumph of the Eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO on Sunday was another milestone in the recent rise of Europe's hard right.
But the party immediately suffered a stiff reality check.
Facing FPO party leader Herbert Kickl in a television studio after results came in, leaders of the other parties in parliament dismissed his overtures on forming a coalition.
The FPO finished 2.5 percentage points ahead of Chancellor Karl Nehammer's conservative People's Party (OVP) to capture 29 per cent of the vote - its best result ever - and Kickl accused his rivals of opposing the will of the people.
"Tomorrow there will be a blue Monday and then we will set about turning that 29 per cent into a political reality in this country," Kickl told supporters on Sunday evening, playing on the fact blue is the colour associated with his party.
Kickl, a provocative and polarising figure allied with Hungarian premier Viktor Orban, offered to negotiate with all other parties in Austria.
The FPO's unexpectedly clear victory risks being hollow if it cannot find a partner.
President Alexander Van der Bellen, a former Greens leader who oversees the formation of governments, urged all parties to hold talks and suggested the process could be drawn out.
Kickl's win cheered hard-right parties across Europe, where the far-right has made gains in countries including the Netherlands, France and Germany.
That growing support could stoke the risk of divisions inside the European Union over key policy areas such as the defence of Ukraine against Russia.
Those victories have been no guarantee of power for the far right, however, with other parties eager to deny them.
France's far-right National Rally won the first round of elections in June only to be frustrated when more moderate parties stood down candidates in the second round, helping the left win the most seats.
In the end, the left also lost out when President Emmanuel Macron named a centre-right prime minister.
In the Netherlands, nationalist Geert Wilders had to give up his hopes to be prime minister after coming first in an election when rivals refused to support a government led by him.
Kickl says he wants to be a "Volkskanzler", a term Nazis used for Adolf Hitler, though others have also claimed it.
Kickl, 55, has embraced conspiracy theories, claiming de-worming agent ivermectin is effective against COVID-19, as did former US president Donald Trump.
He opposes aid to Ukraine and wants sanctions against Russia withdrawn, arguing they hurt Austria more than Moscow.
Supporters say the FPO's "Austria First" policies will curb illegal immigration and lift the economy.
Critics worry it could herald a more authoritarian state.
If Kickl cannot assemble a coalition, it could open the door to some form of tie-up involving the OVP and the centre-left Social Democrats, the two parties that have dominated postwar Austria.
