The far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) has won the European elections in the country, preliminary results showed on Sunday.
The right-wing populists have received 25.5% of the vote, putting them ahead of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) on 24.7% and Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) on 23.3%.
This is the first time that the FPÖ has come first in a nationwide election in Austria.
During the election campaign, the party often emphasized its eurosceptic stance under the slogan "Stop the EU madness" and portrayed the EU as a warmongering force in the Ukraine conflict.
FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl seems a step closer to realizing his goal of becoming Austria's next chancellor.
"We are igniting the next stage. And the next step is the Federal Chancellery," Kickl said at the FPÖ's post-election party.
Parliamentary elections are coming up in Austria this autumn.
In the European elections, the FPÖ reported a gain of more than eight percentage points compared to 2019. The support for the conservative ÖVP plummeted. Its result represents a drop of around 10 percentage points.
In remarks late Sunday, ÖVP leader and Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced there would be consequences, promising to take seriously the great dissatisfaction in his government expressed by citizens.
Among other things, he vowed to take decisive action against illegal migration and over-regulation.
According to an analysis by the Foresight Institute, voters are primarily concerned about immigration, followed by security and war. The fight against the climate crisis is only in third place.
The SPÖ's result is on a par with that of the last European elections.
The performance of the Greens was also eagerly awaited. Their lead candidate, 23-year-old climate activist Lena Schilling, had to contend with a debate triggered by media reports about her suitability for a leading role.
According to preliminary results, the Greens lost around three percentage points and came in at around 10.9% of the vote. The winners of the evening include the liberal Neos party, which is at 10.1% thanks to a slight increase in votes.