AUSTRIA

Party: Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) 

Leader:  Herbert Kickl

Type leader: Kickl has led the party since 2021

% National Vote: The FPÖ won 16% of the popular vote in Austria’s last parliamentary election in 2019, down 10% from its 2017 election total (26%). [The 2019 winner was the ruling conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), currently led by Karl Nehammer, Austrian chancellor. ÖVP won 37.5% in Austria’s last elections in September 2019; it formed a government with the Green party, (Die Grünen).] The next election is scheduled for 29 September 2024. 

Position in Government: The Freedom Party was a member of Austria’s coalition government until May 2019, when a political scandal broke the coalition apart.

Platform: FPÖ advocates for stricter immigration controls, greater Austrian sovereignty, Euroscepticism, and a focus on nationalist interests.

European Parliament: The FPÖ won 25% of the vote and 6 of 20 Austrian seats in the 2024 European legislative elections and subsequently joined the far-right Patriots for Europe coalition.