As Kurz prepares to ascend to the highest seat of Austrian power, the concern in Brussels will be that his views may be more aligned with those of Hungary and Poland than of France and Germany. (Photo: Sebastian Kurz/Flickr)

Austrian voters reject liberal status quo

EU Political

by Anthony Mills, Vienna,

In the end, the Austrian election outcome offers no big surprises, but one small one.

As predicted by the polls, the People's Party (OVP) is projected to win with over 31% of the votes, propelled to victory by its slick new leader, 31-year-old Sebastian Kurz, who has adopted key themes of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), such as migration, security and criticism of the European Union.

However, it's still not clear who will come second – with important implications for the coal...