Is Austria’s far right poised for historic win in Sunday elections?
Al Jazeera
The Freedom Party of Austria looks set to beat rivals for the first time – but where does it stand on immigration and the war in Ukraine?
Austria’s far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) appears set to win the popular vote on Sunday in what would be a historic first.
The FPO has been outpolling the governing centre-right Austrian People’s Party (OVP) and the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPO) for the past year, partly driven by opposition to immigration.
“Anti-migration sentiment is now rising, empowered by the latest East German elections and success of the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD),” University of Helsinki lecturer in Eastern European studies Katalin Miklossy told Al Jazeera.
Germany’s far-right AfD became the first party in that country to win a state election three weeks ago, coming ahead of mainstream parties in Thuringia. It also performed well in Saxony.
“The German chancellor promised in desperation to close borders and send back illegal immigrants,” said Miklossy.
