Austria goes to the polls this Sunday, with the populist, anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPÖ) tipped to emerge as the winner, in what would mark another gain for the far right in Europe. Unlike its peers, however, the FPÖ is no upstart and has previously been part of coalition governments .

The result of last Sunday's Austrian parliamentary elections followed the same pattern as the 2022 elections in Italy, 2023 in the Netherlands and 2024 in the German states of Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg.

The governing conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) secured 26.5% of the votes, a decrease of 11% compared to the 2019 elections, while the FPÖ gained an additional 13%. Read also: Austrian Chancellor opposes ‘preferential treatment’ for Kyiv in EU accession negotiations The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) came in third with 21% of