Why the hard-right triumphed in Austria
The general elections in Austria have delivered a sensational result, with the hard right, pro-Putin Freedom party (FPO) coming out on top for the first time in the Alpine republic’s post-second world war history. Projections after Sunday’s poll give the FPO 29 per cent – a three point lead over their nearest rivals, the conservative People’s party (OVP) under Chancellor Karl Nehammer on 26 per cent. The result does not necessarily mean that the FPO will form the new government, as it lacks an absolute majority, and all the other parties have vowed not to form a coalition with the FPO’s victorious controversial leader, Herbert Kickl, a 55-year-old hardline former interior minister
