Austria’s Far-Right Blocked from Power Despite Election Victory

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The far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) has been prevented from taking power despite emerging as the winner of the national election. FPO leader Herbert Kickl has condemned the newly formed government coalition—comprising the conservative People’s Party, the centre-left Social Democrats, and the liberal Neos—labeling it a “coalition of losers.”

 

Following five months of political deadlock, Austria witnessed an unprecedented political arrangement on Thursday, as these three mainstream parties joined forces to form a government. Christian Stocker, the leader of the People’s Party, will assume the role of chancellor, while Social Democrat leader Andreas Babler will serve as vice-chancellor.

 

Despite securing 28.9 per cent of the vote in September’s election, the FPO did not gain enough seats to govern alone. The party faced outright rejection from all other key political groups, which refused to cooperate with it. As a result, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen initially tasked Karl Nehammer, the then-leader of the conservatives and incumbent chancellor, with forming a government. However, when this attempt failed in January, the responsibility was temporarily handed to the FPO.

 

While the so-called “firewall against the far-right” is not as firmly entrenched in Austria as in Germany, mainstream parties still maintained a united front against the FPO. In Germany, conservative leader Friedrich Merz recently attempted to push stricter migration laws with support from the far-right Alternative for Germany party, but his efforts were ultimately abandoned due to internal opposition within his Christian Democratic Union.

 

The FPO, which has previously governed Austria twice, struggled to secure an alliance with the conservatives this time around, largely due to disagreements over foreign policy. The FPO is believed to advocate for closer ties with Vladimir Putin’s Russia, a stance that proved to be a significant sticking point.

 

With the FPO’s coalition efforts collapsing in January, Austria’s mainstream parties resumed discussions in a desperate bid to prevent new elections, which polls indicate could deliver an even stronger mandate to the far-right. Their eventual agreement has been humorously dubbed the “sugar coalition” due to the resemblance of the parties’ colors to jelly beans.

 

However, the alliance is expected to face significant challenges in governance. Many view it as an uneasy compromise rather than a unified front, driven more by the fear of an emboldened FPO than by ideological alignment. Recent polls suggest FPO support has surged to 34 per cent, making the party a strong contender in any future election.

 

Following the announcement of the new coalition, Kickl remained defiant, declaring: “Today is not the end, I’ll be back, no question.”

Austria has historically been a key testing ground for collaboration between conservatives and the far-right in German-speaking nations. The FPO first entered government in 2000 as part of a coalition with the conservatives and rejoined them in 2017. However, its recent exclusion underscores the broader European trend of mainstream parties resisting the normalization of far-right influence, even as its popularity continues to grow.

 

Based on a report by The Telegraph  2025-03-01

 

 

[Tailwagsdog]

Just like Thailand, the party with the most votes is excluded from participation.

[hotsun]

America is the only true democracy left. All other elections are just for show

[newbee2022]

13 minutes ago, hotsun said:

America is the only true democracy left. All other elections are just for show

I like these jokes on AN 🤣🤣🤣