Austria Set to Hold Election on September 29 as Right-Wing Support Grows

The next parliamentary election in Austria has been scheduled for Sept. 29, as the current government nears the end of its five-year term.

This announcement comes after the far-right Freedom Party narrowly defeated Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s conservative Austrian People’s Party in the recent European Parliament election, where hard-right parties made significant gains across the European Union.

In the European election, the Freedom Party received 25.4% of the vote, securing the top spot in a nationwide election for the first time. The People’s Party followed closely with 24.5% of the vote.

Polls leading up to the general election have suggested a widening gap between the two parties, with the Freedom Party expected to maintain its lead.

Nehammer acknowledged the “great dissatisfaction” among voters following his party’s defeat in the European election. He pledged to address voter concerns over issues such as migration and overregulation in the coming months.

The last national election in Austria took place in September 2019 after then-chancellor Sebastian Kurz dissolved the coalition between his People’s Party and the Freedom Party due to a scandal involving the Freedom Party leader offering government contracts to a purported Russian investor.