Turnout: 77.70%
About this election
The Austrian legislative election of 29 September 2024 was historic: the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), led by Herbert Kickl, won a national parliamentary election for the first time in its history, finishing ahead of the governing People's Party (ÖVP). It was the strongest result for a far-right party in Austria since the Second World War, and it threw the formation of a government into months of difficult negotiation.
The 183-member National Council is elected by proportional representation through three tiers — 39 regional districts, the nine states and a national apportionment — with a 4% threshold. Although the President appoints the Chancellor, the office-holder must be able to command a majority in the chamber, and Austria's strong tradition of coalition government means the largest party does not automatically govern. That distinction proved decisive in 2024, when other parties had pledged not to serve under Kickl.
The election followed a turbulent term marked by the pandemic, high inflation, an energy crisis after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the long shadow of corruption scandals that had felled Sebastian Kurz. Kickl's FPÖ campaigned on immigration, opposition to COVID-era restrictions, scepticism toward EU sanctions on Russia and a promise to make him "Volkskanzler" (people's chancellor). Chancellor Karl Nehammer's ÖVP and the SPÖ under Andreas Babler both ruled out a coalition led by Kickl, while the Greens and the liberal NEOS fought for the centre.
The FPÖ won 28.85% and 57 seats, up 26 — its best ever. The ÖVP fell to 26.27% and 51 seats, and the SPÖ to 21.14% and 41, the latter's weakest result in the post-war era. NEOS rose to 9.14% and 18 seats and the Greens fell to 8.24% and 16. Regionally the FPÖ won four states (Burgenland, Carinthia, Upper Austria and Styria) and the ÖVP four (Lower Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg), while Vienna again backed the SPÖ.
Despite finishing first, Kickl was unable to form a government: President Alexander Van der Bellen initially tasked the ÖVP with coalition talks, and after a failed attempt by the FPÖ and ÖVP to agree terms, a three-party coalition of the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS — the first such tripartite national government in Austrian history — eventually took office in early 2025 under Chancellor Christian Stocker, keeping the FPÖ out of power despite its victory.
The 2024 result is the clearest illustration of a feature that sets Austria apart from majoritarian systems: the party that tops the poll has no automatic claim on the chancellorship. The President formally appoints the Chancellor, but that appointee must be able to command a majority in the 183-seat National Council — and with every other party having pledged before the vote not to serve under Herbert Kickl, the FPÖ's record 28.85% simply could not be converted into 92 seats of parliamentary support. The bars above therefore show a first-placed party that ended up in opposition, while three parties that trailed it combined to govern. The state colours on the map tell the same story of a country split rather than swung: the FPÖ carried four states (Burgenland, Carinthia, Upper Austria and Styria), the ÖVP the other four, and Vienna stayed with the SPÖ, leaving no bloc with a national mandate and making the months of coalition bargaining that followed inevitable.
Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.