Orbán, Le Pen and Wilders are buzzing over Austria’s far right winning election

From Marine Le Pen to Matteo Salvini to Geert Wilders, Europe’s right wingers are celebrating after the anti-immigration, Russia-friendly Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) won Austria’s national election on Sunday. 

The FPÖ, led by Herbert Kickl, won 29 percent of the vote, nearly doubling its share from the last election, according to preliminary results, and putting it about three points ahead of the center-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP).

Congratulations poured in from conservatives corners of Europe.

Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, wrote on social media, “We are winning! Times are changing! Identity, sovereignty, freedom and no more illegal immigration/asylum is what tens of millions of Europeans long for!”

Kickl’s French allies, the National Rally, were also thrilled. Party chief Marine Le Pen said that she was “delighted” with the FPÖ’s victory, which “confirms the triumph of the people.”

The leader of Italy’s League, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, called it “a historic day in the name of change.”

“To those who speak of the ‘far right,’ we remind you that in Vienna the only extreme thing is the desire for change that puts the values of work, family and security back at the center,” Salvini added.

The FPÖ, founded in the 1950s by former members of the SS and other Nazi veterans, ran on an anti-foreigner platform, vowing to erect a “Fortress Austria” to keep out migrants.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán congratulated the FPÖ leader on his “historic victory,” calling it “another win for Patriots,” in reference to the new hard-right grouping in the European Parliament.

Kind words also came from a top politician in Austria’s neighbor, the Czech Republic: “Viktor Orbán was right to point out that the Patriots for Europe are getting stronger day by day,” former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš wrote in his congratulatory message.

The Social Democratic Party finished third in Sunday’s vote, recording the worst result in its history with 21 percent. The Greens, who govern alongside the ÖVP in the current government, also suffered a steep decline in support to finish with just eight percent. The liberal NEOS, meanwhile, were the other winners of the night, finishing with over nine percent.