Herbert Kickl and his right-wing populist FPÖ become the strongest force in the National Council elections in Austria for the first time. This is what the German-speaking press comments on.
The right-wing populist FPÖ achieved a historic victory in the parliamentary elections in Austria on Sunday. According to projections, the Freedom Party of Austria became the strongest force in the National Council for the first time, with almost 29 percent of the vote. “It is a piece of history that we have written today,” said party leader Herbert Kickl in front of his supporters at the FPÖ election celebration in Vienna.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s conservative ÖVP suffered significant losses and came in second with around 26 percent of the vote. However, it is uncertain whether the FPÖ will participate in government. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen initially left it open who he would appoint to form the government. This is how newspapers from Germany and Switzerland comment on the election results.
“Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”: “The FPÖ, which is very far to the right, has long since become a central force in the Second Republic that shapes the country’s politics and can drive the other parties ahead of it. And that despite (or perhaps precisely because) it has always been in favor of itself under Herbert Kickl further radicalized and no longer only used the well-known xenophobic images, but also insulted political opponents and made no secret of their proximity to right-wing extremists. In Austria, what is coming to Germany from the east after the last state elections has long been a bitter reality.
“Leipziger Volkszeitung”: “It is more than a sobering sign that Germany received from Austria this Sunday. It is an alarm signal. Because even if the right-wing populists of the FPÖ do not make it into the Vienna Chancellery because it is possible to form a government without them, they have “The party managed to make a triumphant resurgence in a very short space of time. The election result should be a warning to those in this country who are hoping for the AfD to be contained or bourgeois. It also shows once again that scandals and misconduct are not doing any harm to populists at the moment.”
“Berliner Morgenpost”: “Kickl, a kind of Alpine Höcke, argues as radically as the Thuringian AfD leader. He adopted his battle cry of ‘remigration’ and called for the mass deportation of foreigners. The FPÖ’s election victory is part of the rise of right-wing populist parties in Europe “The fomenting of resentment against the ‘political elites’ is driving many voters to frustration and protest. Nevertheless, it is questionable whether the FPÖ will end up in government despite the victory.”
“Neue Zürcher Zeitung”: “Now it is the brittle Herbert Kickl of all people who leads the FPÖ to triumph and can lay claim to the chancellorship, something his more charismatic predecessors Jörg Haider and Heinz-Christian Strache dreamed of in vain. The election program contains points that represent a break in the system for Austria . Kickl is openly aiming for “Orbanization”. A three-party alliance against the FPÖ is not undemocratic, 70 percent of voters did not vote for the right-wing populists. But if their exclusion is the only common denominator, the Freedom Party will only have to break up this heterogeneous coalition wait and then we might be able to achieve an even bigger election victory. Then there would be no way around a liberal chancellor.”
“Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”: “In Austria, what was previously noticeable in this country and not least in the USA is shown: scandals and misconduct do not harm populists. What would have caused the downfall of a party in a healthy democracy was only enough in Austria to end its participation in government and a change in the party Great.”
