Austrian Chancellor and Head of the Austrian People's Party (OeVP) Karl Nehammer (L) and chairman and top candidate of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPOe) Herbert Kickl (R) meet during their pre-election tv debate hosted by Austrian state network ORF in Vienna, Austria on September 23, 2024.
The leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPO), Herbert Kickl, pledged on Friday to win this weekend's parliamentary election in what would be a historic first, even as opinion polls show the race is now too close to call.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer's conservative Austrian People's Party (OVP), however, has closed the gap to within the margin of error, as the OVP sought to present him as a statesman in contrast to the often abrasive and polarizing Kickl.
"This time we will be number 1," he said, underscoring the fact that it would be the first time the party founded in the 1950s had won a parliamentary election.
It secured its first national victory this year when it beat the OVP by less than a percentage point in June's European election.
Persons:
Karl Nehammer, Herbert Kickl, Austria's, Chancellor Karl Nehammer's, Kickl
Organizations:
Austrian People's Party, Freedom Party of Austria, Austrian, ORF, Party, European Union, Stephen's, OVP
Locations:
Austrian, Vienna, Austria, St
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