- Title: Austria's Far-right party celebrates despite election loss
- Date: 29th September 2019
- Summary: ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** FREEDOM PARTY LEADER NORBERT HOFER AND HERBERT KICKL, THE PARTY'S DEPUTY LEADER AND FORMER INTERIOR MINISTER, WALKING ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (German) FREEDOM PARTY LEADER NORBERT HOFER SAYING: "It was an incredibly difficult election campaign. For you, for Herbert, and for myself. We all had to carry our load, and every day another stone was added to it." FREEDOM PARTY SUPPORTER CHEERING AND DANCING (SOUNDBITE) (German) FREEDOM PARTY LEADER NORBERT HOFER SAYING: "But I can tell you that a difficult time always leads to making the best from this bad situation. And make the right decisions. And it is a great chance. And this chance we will grab. And we will do everything, Herbert and myself, with you, to make the FPO (Freedom Party) into the party that is at the very front of Austrian politics. Thank you." HOFER AND KICKL ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (German) FREEDOM PARTY LEADER NORBERT HOFER SAYING: "I have to tell you - although I promised not to talk too long - that it will be very difficult for the election winner to keep his election promises. Because Sebastian Kurz will have a difficult time to fulfil his election promises in a coalition with the Greens or the SPO. That will be a challenge."
- Embargoed: 13th October 2019 21:35
- Keywords: Freedom Party Norbert Hofer snap election polling station voting
- Location: VIENNA, AUSTRIA
- City: VIENNA, AUSTRIA
- Country: Austria
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA003AYPNGHZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:FPO leader Norbert Hofer blamed election losses in Austria's snap election on Sunday on the 'load' the party has had to carry since a video sting scandal that forced FPO Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache to step down in May, which in turn brought on the collapse in May of then Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's coalition with the far-right Freedom Party (FPO).
Conservative leader Sebastian Kurz triumphed in Sunday's parliamentary election, as widely expected, but he will need a coalition partner to form a stable government and the vote left him several options across the political spectrum.
Kurz, 33, has been largely unscathed by the Strache-scandal, even gaining voters from the FPO as its support has slipped to roughly a fifth of the electorate from a little more than a quarter in the last vote in 2017.
As predicted by opinion polls for months, Kurz's People's Party (OVP) came a comfortable first, with 37.2% of the vote, according to a projection by pollster SORA for national broadcaster ORF published soon after voting ended.
The Social Democrats came second with 22.0%, well ahead of the FPO on 16.0% and the resurgent Greens on 14.3%, the projection showed. It has a margin of error of 1.8 percentage points.
Kurz has said he will talk to all parties if he wins the election. His two most likely choices are either to ally with the FPO again or with the Greens and liberal Neos. A centrist coalition with the Social Democrats is possible but unlikely under their current leadership.
As the campaign wound up last week, the FPO sought to focus attention on its core issue of migration, railing against immigrants in general and Muslims in particular, rather than addressing recent scandals that have eroded its support and could hurt Kurz's image if he allies with the FPO again.
The widespread assumption among politicians and analysts is that the election will be followed by a long period of coalition talks. The current provisional government of civil servants led by former judge Brigitte Bierlein could therefore remain in place until Christmas or later. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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