Austrians have shifted to the right in parliamentary elections, giving the far-right Freedom Party a mandate to enter coalition talks with young conservative victor Sebastian Kurz, who fell short of a parliamentary majority.
People's Party (OVP) chief Kurz, who is just 31, is on track to become one of the world's youngest leaders after securing victory on around 32 per cent by taking a hard line on immigration that blurred lines with the Freedom Party (FPO).
Austria was a gateway into Germany for more than 1 million people during the migration crisis that began in 2015 and took in roughly 1 per cent of its population in asylum seekers in 2015.
Many voters said their country was overrun and the crisis helped buoy right wing parties.
The results put current Chancellor Christian Kern's Social Democrats (SPO) in second place but they could be dislodged by a record number of postal ballots.
Third place would weaken them in coalition talks.
Kurz's party will probably need a coalition partner. An alliance with the FPO is the most likely option, although Kurz has kept his options open.
"Neither a coalition with the FPO nor one with the SPO has been agreed," Kurz told broadcaster ORF when pressed on his plans. "We have to wait for the result"
Any coalition between two of the top three parties is possible since the SPO has lifted a self-imposed ban on coalitions with the FPO. But if the Social Democrats come third it is unlikely to form an alliance with the FPO that would make its leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, chancellor.
The FPO, which was founded by former Nazis but said it has left its past behind, has had to throw out party officials on a regular basis in Nazi-related scandals. Its sister parties are France's Front National and Germany's AfD.
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