The far-right party in Austria, the FPÖ (ID Group), is on course to become the strongest party in the country for next year’s national elections.

The party would win around 29% should an election be held today, according to polls, 13 points stronger than their election result from 2021. Consequently, this would mean the party would surpass its record from 1999 of 26.9%. FPÖ has been at the forefront of the polls now for a year.

Yet in past elections, the party has led polls and fallen during the final weeks, Euractiv reports.

The party’s leader, Herbert Kickl, has criticised solidarity with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, claiming it threatens Austria’s neutrality. In the past, the FPÖ has had close links with Putin’s United Russia party.

Furthermore, as it stands, the centre-left Social Democrats (Socialists and Democrats EU Parliament group) and the centre-right Austrian People’s Party (European People’s Party EU Parliament group) are currently polling between 20% and 25%.

Although this indicates a repeat of the Social Democrats’ result from 2021, it signals a 17-point fall for the People’s Party. Should it decline under its result of 24% from 2013, it would be on track for its worst result since it was set up in 1945.

The coalition partner of the governing People’s Party, the Greens (Greens/EFA EU Parliament group), is currently polling at 9%, four points under their 2021 result.

The liberal NEOS (Renew Europe EU Parliament group) is polling around 11%, three points more than their prior result.

Moreover, the resurgent Communist Party has fallen to about 2%, under the 4% threshold needed to win seats in the national parliament. Yet 2% remains the party’s best result since the 1960s.

Along with other EU countries, Austria also elects new EU Parliament members in June next year.