VIENNA (Reuters) – Austria’s ruling coalition of conservatives and Greens will call the next general election on Sept. 29, at the end of this five-year parliament, Chancellor Karl Nehammer confirmed on Tuesday, deferring a showdown with the far-right for as long as possible.
Polls show the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) with a clear lead over its rivals, having capitalised on the current government’s unpopularity in the wake of crises ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to inflation far above the euro zone average.
The anti-immigration FPO won the European Parliament election for the first time on Sunday, albeit by a margin of less than one percentage point over Nehammer’s People’s Party, less than polls and an election-night forecast had suggested.
“At tomorrow’s cabinet meeting, Sept. 29 will be set as the date of the National Council elections,” Nehammer said on social media platform X, referring to the lower house.
Since they would have likely lost seats in any snap election, the conservatives and Greens were effectively condemned to work together until the end of this parliament despite clashing over key issues like immigration, and repeated bouts of speculation that a snap election was imminent.
In recent months, however, that speculation faded and it became widely expected that the parliamentary election would be held on the last weekend in September.
“I can promise voters that I have understood the message,” Nehammer told reporters on election night on Sunday when it was clear the FPO had won. “There is a great deal of dissatisfaction that was visible today.”
Polls for the parliamentary election show the FPO on around 30% with the OVP and the opposition Social Democrats competing for second place on around 20%. Forming a coalition could be complicated since the leaders of all five parliamentary parties have ruled out a coalition with FPO leader Herbert Kickl.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Peter Graff and Dave Graham)
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