Austrian far right seeks path to power through rivals' blockade

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00:00This is, on one hand, part of a new story that's happening across Europe with far-right

00:05parties coming first in elections from Italy to the Netherlands to France's European election

00:11in June.

00:12But on the other hand, this is also part of a very old Austrian story.

00:16This party, FPÖ, has been a huge force in Austrian politics since the Second World War.

00:22Austria did not have the same kind of denazification process that Germany had.

00:27And this party's origins go back to people who were Nazis during World War II, who actually

00:33even immediately after the war got 11 percent in the election.

00:36And this result that they've gotten is actually fairly similar to results they've gotten several

00:41times over the past decades.

00:43For instance, in 1999, they came second with 27 percent.

00:47And then again in 2017, they got 26 percent.

00:51The big difference, of course, here is that they've come first.

00:54That's never happened before.

00:56They've surpassed the center-right OVP.

00:58And that, in theory, gives them the prerogative to form a government.

01:02So there's two possibilities here.

01:04Austria could go the Italian route.

01:06In Italy, the far-right leader, Giorgio Maloney, was made prime minister.

01:10Or they could go the Dutch route, where far-right leader Geert Wilders, the center-right said

01:15he was too toxic.

01:16There was no way they could form a government where he was prime minister.

01:19So instead, they brought in a kind of neutral technocrat to serve in that government as

01:25the figurehead leader.

01:26But of course, Geert Wilders' People for Freedom Party still remains the majority partner

01:31in that coalition.

01:32Now, the center-right OVP has said they can't work with Herbert Kickl because he's too controversial.

01:38He said things that are too controversial.

01:40They could not form a government with him as prime minister.

01:43However, they've said they're open to forming a government with FPÖ as they have in the

01:47past.

01:48And that's important.

01:49This far-right party has been part of Austrian governments in the past.

01:53The difference this time, though, would be they would be the majority partner and not

01:58the minority partner as they have before.

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