The next chancellor of Austria could be Europe’s most Right-wing leader after establishment parties failed to strike a pact to keep a populist pro-Putin faction out of power.

The victory for Herbert Kickl’s Eurosceptic and anti-migrant Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) marks a paradigm shift on the continent as traditional coalition building between moderate parties falters.

The centre-Right People’s Party (OVP) and other establishment groups in Austria initially refused to hold coalition talks with the FPO after federal elections in September 2024.

But their attempt to form a “firewall” – or “cordon sanitaire” – against the far-Right failed after negotiations among themselves to form the next government collapsed.

Now, talks between the far-Right FPO and conservative OVP are on, sparking protests across the country that saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets in anger last week.

The cordon sanitaire, which is formed by pacts between traditional parties to keep extremists from government, has a long history in Europe.

But as more and more hard-Right parties rise to prominence, such firewalls have come under increasing pressure.