Kurz wins again in Austria as support for far-right collapses

The Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) of Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz won the national election in Austria, with around 38% of the vote.

The snap parliamentary election on Sunday 29 September came after his coalition government lost a non-confidence vote due to a corruption scandal of his partners Austria Freedom Party (FPÖ, far-right nationalists). Voters punished the FPÖ, which lost one third of its supporters, down to 17%.

Sebastian Kurz could turn again to the far-right to form an alliance, but has other options on the table. One is to repeat a traditional grand alliance government with the Social Democrats (SPÖ), who came second with a historic low of only 21% of the votes. Another option is to reach an agreement with the Greens, who came fourth with a 13%, tripling their previous result.

Kurz, 33, is the youngest Prime Minister in the world. He started to lead the Austrian government aged 31.

Austria parliamentary election results. / Ministry of the Interior Austria

Weeks before the parliamentary vote, Christians issued a guide calling all believers to actively engage in the election. They asked the main candidates about 15 “touchstone issues” such as family, migration, environment or religious freedom. “Let’s pray for the coalition talks ahead, so that Christian values are strengthened during the upcoming term”, the editor of the Christian document said.