Kickl triumphs: FPÖ federal party conference with 96.94% for People's Chancellor!

Kickl triumphs: FPÖ federal party conference with 96.94% for People's Chancellor!

Last Saturday, September 27, 2025, the party conference of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) took place in the Salzburg trade fair, at which Herbert Kickl was re-elected as federal party leader with an excellent result of 96.94 percent of the delegate votes. This represents his best result to date, after 88.24 percent in 2021 and 91 percent in 2022. Around 850 delegates from all over Austria came together to support Kickl and the FPÖ's future line. In his speech, the party leader emphasized his desire to become “People’s Chancellor” and projected his vision of a “Third Republic” for Austria. Kickl described the FPÖ as the country's largest democratization project and rated the possibility of entering the government after the next election as high.

The event, marked by angry protests and some incidents, began with greetings from international right-wing parties including Marine Le Pen and Viktor Orbán. However, critical tones were also heard at the party conference: the SPÖ described Kickl as the “most cowardly party chairman in Austria” and the Greens warned about the FPÖ's closeness to Russia and possible threats to security. A key motion entitled "Freedom. Progress. Fairness. Peace." set the substantive direction for the coming years. Carinthia's FPÖ leader Erwin Angerer interpreted the result as a sign of unity within the FPÖ.

Chaos & protests

But the party conference was not without incident. On the one hand, the fall of National Council member Hubert Fuchs, who fell from a staircase and had to be taken to hospital, was shocking. On the other hand, two activist protesters who rappelled down from the roof of the exhibition hall with a rainbow flag and a Palestine flag caused a stir. These were quickly removed by the fire department. There were also smaller, peaceful protests outside the hall, but they did not have a significant impact on the course of the meeting.

Critical voices on Kickl's topics such as the “Fortress Austria” in asylum policy and the negative attitude towards the “rainbow cult” became loud, which made the gravity of his political agenda clear. Kickl clearly rejected the “visions of the losers” and stated that “without the possibility of failure, there is no possibility of success.”

A strong team

Kickl's inauguration also marked the confirmation of his deputies: Erwin Angerer, Manfred Haimbuchner, Mario Kunasek, Udo Landbauer and Marlene Svazek were confirmed in their positions. Together with a strong team, Kickl plans to continue to position the FPÖ as a central political element in Austria.

The conclusion of the party conference is entirely positive for Kickl and the FPÖ: With a strong delegate base and a clear mandate behind them, they can confidently move into the next election campaigns, while at the same time having to respond to the criticism of their political opponents. How all of this will affect the political landscape in Austria remains exciting.

For more detailed information and further developments you can read the article RaiNews as well as on Express read up.