Immigration-critical FPÖ at 36 percent

Published December 24, 2024 at 5:18 p.m.

Foreign. The anti-immigration FPÖ is consolidating its position as Austria's strongest political force. A recent opinion poll shows that the party has reached a record high of 36 percent of voter support – and is 16 percentage points larger than the second-place conservative ÖVP.

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With 36 percent, the FPÖ remains unshaken in its top position in public opinion, a position they have held steadily in recent weeks. This is shown by a survey from the Lazarsfeld Institute, commissioned by OE24.

At the same time, negotiations on a “traffic light coalition” between the ÖVP, the social democratic SPÖ and the liberal Neos are progressing slowly and are in danger of collapsing.

Despite the FPÖ becoming the largest party in the election, the three other parties chose to cooperate to form a transitional government without the participation of the immigration-critical party.

The party leader and self-proclaimed “people's chancellor” Herbert Kickl looks set to lead the FPÖ towards a historic election result that would lead to new elections. It is already clear that the FPÖ is the big favorite, something that has become increasingly clear since negotiations between the three other parties began in November with the aim of excluding Kickl's popular party from power.

The ongoing negotiations between the ÖVP, the social democratic SPÖ and the liberal Neos have become a protracted and nerve-wracking process for the party leaders involved. The latest survey shows that support for these parties is falling further. The ÖVP is now at 20 percent (-1), the SPÖ is stuck at 19 percent, while Neos is at 10 percent. The Greens are at only 8 percent, with no signs of improvement.

With a 16 percent lead over the ÖVP, Herbert Kickl's FPÖ is in a class of its own. Such dominance of public opinion by a single party in Austria has not been seen for years.