Herbert Kickl on his way out of Vienna's Hofburg Palace following talks with Austria's president, Alexander Van der Bellen, earlier this month. | Credit: Joe Klamar / AFP / "Vienna could be about to get its first far-right leader since WWII,

Even so, according to polls, the FPÖ will do still better if snap elections are held. Kronen Zeitung, Austria’s largest-circulation tabloid, published a poll on January 5th that put the FPÖ at 37% of the vote, which would give them around 40% of the seats in parliament. That should focus the minds of the ÖVP ’s negotiators. ■

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg will serve as the country’s interim leader while the far-right Freedom Party attempts to put together a new coalition government, the president’s office said Wednesday.

The far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the conservative People's Party (ÖVP), currently negotiating a coalition government in the Alpine state, are planning massive attacks on the working class and on migrants.

Karin Keller-Sutter, is on an official visit to Austria, where she was received by the Austrian President, Alexander Van der Bellen. She attended a ceremony in his honor, followed by a press conference with the host president.

Sutter, who took over the rotating Swiss presidency this year, has made her first official visit abroad as president to Austria. </p

The resignation of the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, is imminent - although a successor has not yet been officially appointed.

Herbert Kickl, who now has good chances of becoming Austria's next chancellor, has radicalized the FPÖ in recent years. He seems to enjoy his role as the ultimate evil.

Herbert Kickl faces a rocky road to Brussels if the Freedom Party politician is indeed elected as Austria's next chancellor.

With the elections in September 2024, the populist Freedom Party (FPÖ) became the strongest party in Austria for the first time. In January 2025, hopes of averting populism quickly faded when Austria’s Federal President Alexander van der Bellen was left with no choice other than giving the FPÖ a mandate to form a government.

Night - Partly cloudy with a 34% chance of precipitation. Winds from ESE to SE at 7 to 8 mph (11.3 to 12.9 kph). The overnight low will be 25 °F (-3.9 °C). Cloudy with a high of 34 °F (1.1 °C ...

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn is celebrating his farewell as Archbishop of Vienna today (Saturday) with a big farewell party. Around 4000 people are