Thousands rally in Austria against far right Freedom Party

VIENNA

Thousands of people protested in Austria's capital Vienna against a possible return to power for the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which topped national elections on Sept. 29.

The FPOe won almost 29 percent of the vote in the last week’s general election, ahead of the conservative People's Party (OeVP) with just over 26 percent.

"The Austrian Freedom Party is a danger because it has already said that it wants to govern in the image of Hungary's Viktor Orban," said Rihab Toumi, a 26-year-old student, referring to the nationalist leader of Austria's neighbouring country.

Although the FPOe topped the polls, there is no guarantee that their radical leader Herbert Kickl will be given a chance to form a government since no other party is willing to work with him.

"This result was a shock and we cannot let a party that drifts so far to the right garner so much support without saying anything," said social worker Marianne, 53, who declined to share her surname.

Organisers claimed there were 15,000 to 17,000 protesters in central Vienna, who marched towards parliament.

Demonstrators held up placards saying "Let's defend democracy", "No alliances with Putin's friends" and other anti-FPOe slogans.

Kickl has criticised European Union sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Demonstrators intend to march every Thursday, having similarly done so after the far right formed part of short-lived coalition governments in 2000 and 2017.