Austrian voters handed a first-ever general election victory to the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) on Sunday, preliminary results showed, illustrating rising support for such parties in Europe fueled by concern over immigration levels.
The Eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO held a slim lead in opinion polls for months over Chancellor Karl Nehammer's ruling conservative Austrian People's Party (OVP) in a campaign dominated by immigration and worries about the economy.
Led by the 55-year-old Herbert Kickl, the FPO won 28.8% of the vote, ahead of the OVP on 26.3%, and the center-left Social Democrats (SPO) on 21.1%, according to a projection based on nearly all the vote by pollster Foresight for broadcaster ORF, a slightly bigger victory margin than final polls had indicated.
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