Austria holds tight election with far right bidding for historic win

29/9/2024 13:17

        Austrians elect a new parliament on Sunday with the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) aiming to secure its first general election win in a neck-and-neck race with the ruling conservatives that has been dominated by economic worries and immigration.
        
        Having led opinion polls for months, the FPO's edge over the Austrian People's Party (OVP) has shrunk to almost nothing as Chancellor Karl Nehammer casts himself as a statesman and depicts his rival, FPO leader Herbert Kickl, as a toxic menace.
        
        Whoever wins will fall well short of an absolute majority, polls show, but claim the right to lead a coalition government. Projections are due minutes after polls close at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT), with results being finessed over the ensuing hours.
        
        The eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO, which is critical of Islam and pledges tougher rules on asylum seekers, won a national vote for the first time in June when it beat the OVP by less than a percentage point in European elections.