31-yr-old conservative set to become next chancellor

October 15, 2017 7:22 PM

This would place a far-right party in an Austrian governing coalition for the first time in over 10 years.

An exit poll has predicted that

According to the exit poll by state broadcaster ORF, Kurz's People's Party (OVP) will gain the most seats in the National Council, winning 57 out of 183.

CNN reports that the OVP is expected to form a coalition with the Freedom Party (FPO), which will win 51 seats, the poll reveals.

According to the reports, this would place a far-right party in an Austrian governing coalition for the first time in over 10 years.

The FPO which is headed by Heinz Christian-Strache has called for "minus migration" and a ban on "fascistic Islam."

Although exit polls are not the final results and the number of votes and seats given to each party may change, the result essentially makes the FPO a kingmaker, in a country which has chosen to move to the right less than a year after voting against a far-right presidency.

The election which was watched across all of Europe has seen a rise in populist far-right parties, many of which have campaigned on anti-immigration platforms.

Not like Germany's far-right AfD party -- which won its first seats in the Bundestag in the federal elections there last month -- the FPO reportedly has a long history in Austria's Parliament and has been a part of a coalition government between 2000 and 2005.

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