World News

Austria's far-right makes regional gains after national election win

Oct 14, 2024

Vienna [Austria], October 14: Europe's far-right has charted its latest electoral success with record gains in an Austrian regional election, just two weeks after the anti-migrant Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) won a federal parliamentary election. The FPÖ is projected to have gained almost 14 percentage points in local polls in Vorarlberg, a small state between Lake Constance and the skiing region of Arlberg. Broadcaster ORF reports the party is set to secure around 28% of the vote there. The conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) led by state governor Markus Wallner came in first place, albeit with losses of around 5 percentage points, according to projections with a 1.1% margin of error. With a result of around 38%, the ÖVP looks set to clearly defend first place. The Greens, who have been in a coalition with the ÖVP in Vienna's parliament, are expected to receive around 13%. The Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the liberal Neos are each expected to receive around 9%. Sunday's regional election result is a further signal of the strong support for the FPÖ, whose gains are in line with a surging far-right elsewhere in Western Europe, notably the Netherlands, Italy, Germany and France. (dpa)