Austria's far-right party faces uphill task to form govt

Despite FPO's election victory, rival parties reject its overtures to form ruling coalition

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Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPO) faced on Sept 30 the task of clearing a path to power after its historic parliamentary election victory left the anti-establishment outfit needing a partner to form a governing coalition.

The triumph of the eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO on Sept 29 was another milestone in the recent rise of Europe's hard-right. But the party immediately suffered a stiff reality check.

Facing FPO party leader Herbert Kickl in a television studio after the results came in, leaders of the other parties in Parliament dismissed his overtures on forming a coalition.

The FPO finished around 2.5 percentage points ahead of Chancellor Karl Nehammer's conservative People's Party (OVP) to capture some 29 per cent of the vote - its best result ever - and Mr Kickl accused his rivals of opposing the will of the people.

"Tomorrow, there will be a blue Monday and then we will set about turning that 29 per cent into a political reality in this country," Mr Kickl told supporters on Sept 29 evening, playing on the fact that blue is the colour associated with his party.