Far-right party wins Austria's election ? Tunisia's controversial president re-elected
Far-right Freedom Party of Austria narrowly wins in Austria's parliamentary election
On September 29th, 2024, the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FP?) secured Austria’s first far-right election victory post-World War II. The party, led by Russia-friendly, Eurosceptic Herbert Kickl, a former interior minister, won 29% of the vote, the best result in its history, gaining 61 seats. The governing liberal-conservative Austrian People’s Party (?VP) came in second, losing 20 seats, while their coalition partner, the Greens, lost 10 seats. Austria's president Alexander Van der Bellen, a former leader of the Greens, has asked the outgoing cabinet to stay on in a caretaker capacity while talks are being held to form a new government.?
Immigration was a major issue of the elections, with the FP? calling for ‘remigration of uninvited foreigners’ and achieving a more ‘homogeneous’ nation in its election programme, titled ‘Fortress Austria.’ Despite controversy over its Nazi roots, the FP?'s anti-establishment stance gained traction, tapping into voters' concerns over immigration, economic stagnation, and spiralling cost of living. The growing popularity of hard-right parties in Europe can at least partly be attributed to those parties being more successful in using social media to attract younger voters worried about inflation, job security, and the war in Ukraine, with the FP? benefitting from a much bigger social media following compared to the People's Party.?
Although FP? narrowly won the elections, they face a challenge when it comes to finding a coalition partner. The other parties have ruled out working with it and its controversial leader, citing concerns over its hard-line policies and alleged ties to extremism. The FP? has been in coalition with the People's Party before, however, the incumbent Chancellor Karl Nehammer repeatedly ruled out going into government with Herbert Kickl and did so again after the election, saying it is ‘impossible to form a government with someone who adores conspiracy theories.’ Although the FP? currently appears to have no path to power, Nehammer urged the president to formally task it with forming a coalition, as giving the party the first chance of forming the government would help counter their arguments of being shut out. Nevertheless, analysts expect the coalition talks to take months and the FP? will likely find itself locked out of government if other parties manage to form a coalition.
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Tunisia's incumbent President Kais Saied wins second term amid crackdown against opposition
Tunisia's incumbent President Kais Saied won the presidential election on October 6th, 2024, securing 89.2% of the vote, according to preliminary results. Saied faced minimal opposition due to the imprisonment or exclusion of most opponents, with the election featuring only three approved candidates: Kais Saied, Zouhair Maghzaoui, a veteran politician who secured 6.9% of the vote, and Ayachi Zammel, a businessman who received 3.9% of the vote despite being jailed in September on accusations of voter fraud. The election was characterised by a lack of campaign activities, with Saied's image dominating public spaces and other candidates relying on social media and online platforms due to restrictions on public gatherings and rallies. Saied’s main rivals were either imprisoned or barred from running, leading to calls for an election boycott by opposition, and raising questions about the election's legitimacy.?
Observers have described the election as dominated by voter apathy, with it receiving a total turnout of 27.7%, significantly lower than the 55.7% in 2019 and the lowest since Tunisia's 2011 ‘Arab Spring’ revolution. The election has been seen as a closing chapter in Tunisia’s experiment with democracy, with critics pointing to Saied's power consolidation. After coming to power in 2019 on an anti-establishment platform, Saied seized most powers in 2021 when he suspended Tunisia’s parliament and fired then Prime Minister Hicham Mechichi and the cabinet in a move opposition described as a coup. He has since consolidated his power by extending Tunisia’s state of emergency, dissolving parliament, and rewriting the constitution. Critics fear that Saied's new mandate will exacerbate Tunisia's economic challenges and accelerate its drift towards authoritarianism.???
The election took place against a backdrop of high inflation, unemployment, and other economic problems, including periodic shortages of essential goods and power and water outages. Tunisia relies heavily on lenders; however, negotiations have long been stalled over an IMF bailout package due to Saied’s reluctance to accept its conditions. Although Tunisia has maintained ties with Western countries, Saied has sought to establish new partnership, claiming to free the country from what he calls ‘foreign diktats.’ Specifically, Tunisia has announced plans to boost trade ties with Iran and has accepted millions in loans from China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The economic situation has also impacted migration, with Tunisia becoming one of the primary departure points for migrants heading to Europe. Saied has insisted that Tunisia will not become a ‘border guard’ for Europe and claimed that the arrival of thousands of illegal migrants from sub-Saharan Africa was a ‘conspiracy to change the country’s demographic makeup.’
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