Europe | Austria’s election

Why the hard-right Herbert Kickl is unlikely to be Austria’s next chancellor

In spite of his strong win

Herbert Kickl casts his vote in Austria's general election
Photograph: Getty Images

USUALLY, COMING top in a general election would make you a popular person in your capital. But Vienna was different this week. Despite Herbert Kickl’s win by a solid margin, with 29% of the votes on September 29th, no other political party wants to run the country with him and his hard-right Freedom Party (FPÖ). The governing centre-right People’s Party (ÖVP) came second with 26%, and is trying to avoid exactly that.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “To the victor, no spoils”

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