FPÖ party conference

FPÖ party conference starts with pro-Palestine disruptive action

At the FPÖ party conference in Salzburg, Kickl is expected to receive strong support as party leader. He is currently giving his speech.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Today, 850 delegates are meeting in Salzburg for the FPÖ federal party conference. The blue front man Herbert Kickl will be confirmed as party leader there. He is currently giving his speech. We accompany you through the party conference with our krone.at live ticker. 

The whole thing should actually have taken place in June - in Kitzbühel. However, due to the rampage at a school in Graz, the Freedom Party canceled its national party conference. It will now be held today - at the exhibition center in Salzburg.

The most important facts in brief:

• In 2022, Herbert Kickl received 91 percent at a regular FPÖ party conference. Will he achieve more today?

• The party conference began with video messages from allies such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and AfD co-chair Alice Weidel.

• Opponents of the Freedom Party have announced several anti-FPÖ demonstrations. According to the Salzburg police, the police are prepared. The start was made by a small pro-Palestinian group.

• Kickl wants to put up a "joker" for the 2028 federal presidential election.

• After the party conference and Herbert Kickl's re-election as leader, the Blue Party's "autumn offensive" begins.

Can Kickl top his 2022 result?
Kickl is currently undisputed as FPÖ leader. He recently denied rumors that he could leave Carinthian state politics. He can hope for strong support in today's re-election as party leader. In Wiener Neustadt in 2021, he was elected Norbert Hofer's successor with 88.24% of delegate votes. The following year, he received 91% at a regular party conference in St. Pölten. In the run-up to today's party conference, insiders expected a "very, very good" result for Kickl - "possibly even slightly better than last time". 

Protests announced
Kickl is likely to expect less approval outside the exhibition center. "Some individuals and organizations in solidarity" have joined forces to demonstrate against the event. Initially, these were limited.

FPÖ currently clearly in first place in the polls
The FPÖ has been on the rise in elections for years, becoming the strongest party in the 2024 National Council elections. However, participation in government was prevented by a coalition of the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS. Nevertheless, the Freedom Party made significant gains in the polls and could currently reach up to 35%. Kickl is continuing to pursue his goal of becoming "People's Chancellor" in Austria: "I think this party conference will naturally be dominated by this renewal project for Austria. And in a nutshell, that is the people's chancellorship."