The Chairman of Austria's Freedom Party (FPOe) Herbert Kickl (R) and other MPs applaud after the election of Walter Rosenkranz (L), MP of Austria's Freedom Party (FPOe), as new parliament president in the plenary of the Austrian Parliament in Vienna on October 24, 2024, as the parliament meets for the first time after the National Council elections. (Photo by Alex HALADA / AFP)
Vienna: Austrian lawmakers on Thursday elected for the first time a far-right politician as parliament president.
The far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) won national polls for the first time last month, gaining almost a third of the votes, though it has been unable to find partners to form a government.
But as the strongest party, it nominated lawmaker Walter Rosenkranz, 62, a lawyer and a former presidential candidate, as the parliament's president.
In parliament's first session following last month's national elections, Rosenkranz was elected with 100 out of 162 valid votes that were cast, current parliament president Wolfgang Sobotka said.
Rosenkranz, who has been widely criticised for being a member of a far-right student fraternity known for its strident pan-German nationalism, was elected in a secret ballot.
In a debate before the vote, conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer -- who hopes to head another government -- said his party was "committed to the customs and traditions" of parliament of the strongest party nominating the president.
FPOe leader Herbert Kickl praised Rosenkranz for his "loyalty to democracy, the constitution and the rule of law".
