FILE PHOTO: Head of Freedom Party (FPOe) Herbert Kickl attends their final election rally in Vienna, Austria, September 27, 2024. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's Freedom Party (FPO) won Sunday's general election, putting the far-right group in pole position to form a coalition for the first time since World War Two, projections showed, though it is by no means sure to find a partner.
Led by Herbert Kickl, the FPO secured 29.1% of the vote, ahead of Chancellor Karl Nehammer's Austrian People's Party (OVP) on 26.2% and the centre-left Social Democrats on 20.4%, a projection by pollster Foresight for broadcaster ORF showed soon after polls closed at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT).