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Brussels – How is the far-right FPÖ’s victory in the Austrian parliamentary elections last Sunday being received in Brussels? EU experts surveyed by the APA point out that the development in Austria mirrors that in other countries in the EU, such as the Netherlands or Italy. For political scientist Sophie Pornschlegel, what matters for work at the European level is “who is in government.” Eric Maurice from the European Policy Centre says: “Austria’s positions will not be easy for its EU partners,” citing migration and Schengen as key issues.
“The fact that they are the first with candidates who are more radical than their predecessors is a significant development,” analyses Maurice. This will influence the policy of any future government in any case, he thinks. “If that’s the FPÖ and the (conservative ruling party, ed.) ÖVP, it basically means nothing good, as national governments co-decide in the Council (of Member States, ed.),” says Pornschlegel, an EU expert at the Brussels think tank Europe Jacques Delors, in an interview with the APA.
How a possible FPÖ participation in government would affect sensitive policy areas such as migration and Russia, Pornschlegel cannot yet say: “One can never know how far they will adapt or not.” As an example, she cites Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of the right-wing party Fratelli d’Italia: “With Meloni, there was also a lot of fear, but in the end, she supported Ukraine.”
The EU’s new asylum and migration pact, the implementation of which is now pending, goes “extremely far in the direction of Fortress Europe,” according to the German. “One can only hope that the package is not further strengthened, as certain governments want to go even further.” Former journalist Maurice says: “Austria’s positions will not be easy for its partners. The country is demanding more measures to limit the influx of migrants, and the Schengen issue (Austria is currently blocking full access for Romania and Bulgaria, ed.) is also interesting.”
The election gains of far-right parties in many EU member states show “growing nationalism and mistrust of institutions,” according to Pornschlegel. It is “no longer unusual for the extreme right to be strong or to come first in elections,” Maurice also notes. The national and EU levels are becoming increasingly politically intertwined. “A vote against the government is always also a vote against the EU because the government has co-decided there.” The EU becomes the “scapegoat.”
Pornschlegel considers it “dangerous to only point to the right” and recommends that parties “start self-reflection and consider how things can be done differently, rather than copying the original.” She sees different reactions today than 25 years ago, when the EU was still “deeply affected” by the participation of the FPÖ in government under Jörg Haider. At that time, it was “a shock,” says EU expert Maurice, today gains by far-right parties are “systemic.”
The European Commission did not want to comment on the Austrian election result on Monday: “We do not comment on the results of elections. Ask Austrian voters about the importance of their vote, just like the citizens of all member states,” Chief Spokesperson Eric Mamer told journalists in Brussels.
According to the preliminary final result published by the Ministry of the Interior, the Freedom Party clearly secured first place with 28.8 percent of the vote. Second place thus goes to the ÖVP with 26.3 percent, ahead of the SPÖ with 21.1 percent. The NEOS overtook the Greens with 9.2 percent, who landed at 8.3 percent. The FPÖ is represented in the EU Parliament in the “Patriots for Europe” faction along with Vlaams Belang, the French Rassemblement National, the Italian Lega, the Czech ANO, Viktor Orbán’s Hungarian Fidesz party, the Danish People’s Party, and other right-wing parties (30.09.2024).