Voters are set to choose a new parliament for Austria, where migration equally moves and divides people. The elections are viewed as a pivotal vote for the country – one that could put the far-right Freedom party on top.
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00:00In Austria, the effects of migration are probably nowhere as apparent as they are in the town of Dreiskirchen,
00:07some 30 kilometers from the capital Vienna.
00:10Here, at the reception center, asylum seekers spend their first weeks in Austria.
00:19This Sunday, voters will choose a new parliament for Austria,
00:23where migration equally moves and divides people.
00:27What's the most important topic?
00:34I'm from Dreiskirchen and the most important issues are foreigners, crime and food prices.
00:48Not everyone should be allowed into the country.
00:51By that I mean the refugees, those who come normally, those who need help,
00:57that's fine.
01:00Migration has no effect on my voting decision,
01:03because we are coping well with the reception center in Dreiskirchen.
01:08In Vienna, political scientist Sylvia Kritzinger says
01:12that migration and security are important topics for many voters,
01:16not just in Austria, but across Europe.
01:19Well, Austria is no exception in this case, because we see it all over Europe,
01:23in the sense that migration is really becoming a very salient topic for a large amount of voters,
01:29so therefore migration for a certain voter, for certain voting groups,
01:34is definitely an important topic that they will consider when voting.
01:38Kritzinger says there is one party that owns the topic in Austria like no other,
01:45the far-right freedom party FPÖ.
01:49They propagate an Austria-first policy.
01:54In the city center, party leader Herbert Kickl says
01:58migrants who do not abide by the rules should be deported.
02:07It's simply not understandable that we have to protect our people
02:11from those who are coming here to seek protection.
02:16Something isn't right with the system anymore.
02:19And that's why we finally need re-migration.
02:24I don't know why the word is supposed to be so evil.
02:29That controversial term, re-migration,
02:32is classified by the Austrian State Security Service as right-wing extremist,
02:37even though Kickl's FPÖ has been leading the opinion polls for many months.
02:42However, Karl Nehammer of the conservative People's Party UFP
02:46has been catching up in the opinion polls in recent days.
02:50In the face of a tight final sprint,
02:53the current chancellor explains to his supporters what he stands for.
02:59We are the politics of the center.
03:02Against radicalism.
03:03We want stability instead of chaos.
03:06The most essential for the future and future challenges is,
03:10we do not want to live from problems, but we want to solve them instead.
03:16While it is for the Austrians to choose in which direction they want their country to go,
03:21the new chancellor will need to find coalition partners to form a government.