The far right in Austria is expected to win a tight election race

Forecasts say the far-right Freedom Party in Austria is heading for an unprecedented general election victory under the leadership of Herbert Kickel.

Predictions based on preliminary results give Kickla’s party 29.1%, almost three points ahead of the conservative People’s Party with 26.2%, but far from a majority.

The Freedom Party (FPÖ) was already in the coalition, but the second-place conservative People’s Party refused to participate in the government it led.

Kickel’s main rival, the incumbent Chancellor of the People’s Party Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), said that “it is impossible to form a government with someone who loves conspiracy theories.”

Some 6.3 million Austrians were eligible to vote in a race dominated by the twin issues of migration and asylum, as well as inflation and the war in Ukraine.

Kickl promised the Austrians to build a “Fortress Austria” to restore their security, prosperity and peace. He also talked about becoming Volkskanzler (people’s chancellor), which for some Austrians carries echoes of the term used to describe Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.