Elections

Far-Right Freedom Party Set to Win Austria Vote: What to Watch

  • Kickl’s party has topped public opinion polls for two years
  • Broadcaster ORF to publish projections at 5 p.m. CET on Sunday
Herbert Kickl during an election rally at Stephansplatz in Vienna, Sept. 27.Photographer: Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images
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Austria’s far-right Freedom Party is forecast to win the most votes at a federal election for the first time, in what would be a bitter defeat for the nation’s two historical political groups that will likely herald a complicated stretch of coalition talks.

The populist party has topped public opinion polls for almost two years, with its leader, Herbert Kickl, campaigning on a pledge to deport asylum seekers and stop supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression as a self-proclaimed “chancellor of the people.”