The conservative Austrian People’s party (OVP) has declared victory in Austria’s national elections, making its 31-year-old leader Sebastian Kurz the world’s youngest head of government at the end of October.
Projections last night put the OVP ahead with 31.7% of the vote. “The incumbent chancellor Christian Kern’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPO) were relegated to second place with 27% of the vote, while the far-right FPÖ took 25.9%, failing to match its best-ever result,” The Guardian says.
“I am truly overwhelmed,” Kurz told cheering supporters at an election party after polls closed. “We made the impossible possible. Thank you very much for your commitment and this historic success.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Kurz will now face the task of forming a new government, with a potential coalition with the far-right Freedom Party, following a campaign fought over tax cuts and harsher measures against “political Islam”.
However, Kurz has repeatedly refused to be drawn on which party he would form a coalition with, saying he intended to talk to all parties before making a decision, and not ruling out forming a minority government.
“The rightward shift was seen as a response to the success of the Freedom Party, which narrowly missed out on the presidency in December when Norbert Hofer was defeated by Alexander Van der Bellen, head of the Greens,” the BBC says.
-
5 chilling cartoons about increasing ICE aggressionCartoons Artists take on respect for the law, the Fourth Amendment, and more
-
Political cartoons for January 24Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include 3D chess, political distractions, and more
-
Ryanair/SpaceX: could Musk really buy the airline?Talking Point Irish budget carrier has become embroiled in unlikely feud with the world’s wealthiest man
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
