Far-right leader claims he is 'real victor' in Austria

He has been linked to neo-Nazi groups, says women in Islamic dress are "female ninjas" and wants to take Austria out of the EU. But after his huge gains in Sunday's general election, the far-right leader Heinz- Christian Strache is bidding to become his country's next chancellor.

The extreme right romped home with a record 29 per cent of the vote, inflicting disaster on Austria's two main parties, the Social Democrats and the centre-right People's Party, whose grand coalition government collapsed due to in-fighting.

In their worst performance since 1945, the Social Democrats secured 30 per cent of the vote and their conservative rivals 25 per cent. With Austria now in political turmoil, the two parties are facing the unwelcome choices of forming another highly unpopular grand coalition or joining forces with the far right.

Related articles

• Leading article: Echoes of a dark past
• Search the news archive for more stories

The xenophobic Freedom Party, presided over by Mr Strache, 39, won 18 per cent of the vote with 11 per cent going to the veteran right-winger Jörg Haider's Alliance for the Future of Austria. It was the Austrian far-right's best performance since the Second World War.

Yesterday Mr Strache, a perma-tanned dental technician, claimed to be the true victor. "We are the winners of election night," he said on Austrian television. Demanding a role in any future government, he also announced that he was interested in becoming the country's next chancellor.

Last night, however, Austria's conservatives named Josef Pröll their new leader, which some welcomed as a boost to the chances of forming a new centrist coalition. Unlike the outgoing leader, Mr Pröll enjoys a good personal rapport with the Social Democrat leader Werner Faymann, which could help end the infighting that brought down the last government.

Yet Mr Strache's bid for the premier's job was not unrealistic. Should either of the two main parties find no other option than to form a government with the far right, Mr Strache would be in a position to put his name forward for the post. Such an outcome would be reminiscent of 1999 when the Freedom Party, then led by Mr Haider, joined Austria's ruling coalition. Fearing that democracy was under threat, the EU responded by invoking sanctions. Mr Haider had praised Adolf Hitler and the Nazi SS.

Mr Strache's record is equally controversial. He recently failed to win a court battle against a magazine which described him as having neo-Nazi contacts. There are also said to be photographs of Mr Strache in his youth which allegedly show him attending a militant far-right gathering at which neo-Nazis in uniforms brandished guns. Mr Strache denies the claims but nevertheless wants to overturn laws banning the swastika.

His Freedom Party is anti-EU and anti-foreigner. During their campaign, senior party members complained that immigration had brought an end to the good old days when Austrians ate Wiener schnitzel and sausages instead of "kebabs, falafel and couscous, or whatever that stuff is called". At rallies, Mr Strache pledged to set up a government ministry with the sole task of deporting unwanted foreigners.

Mr Strache became Freedom Party leader in 2005 after Mr Haider fell out with him over a series of election defeats and left to form his own party. The two men make no secret of their dislike for each other, but have signalled that they are ready to compromise if given a government role.

Political commentators blamed voter dissatisfaction with the dismal performance of the main parties for the meteoric rise of the far right. However, the Social Democrat leader, Mr Faymann ruled out the idea of forming a coalition with them.

The conservative People's Party has said it will consider all coalition partners but insists it will not tolerate some of the anti-EU policies espoused by the far right. Austria is expected to endure weeks of fraught political negotiations before a new government is formed.