More than 6 mln Austrians participate in EP elections

More than six million Austrian voters will be heading to the polling stations on June 9 to choose their new representatives in the European Parliament; amid fears of the far-right Liberal Party rising popularity. The Freedom Party of Austria, led by Herbert Kickl aims to utilize the people's resentment against government parties to spread its "racist" ideologies, as he called for "the nations of Europe" instead of an integrated Europe, where the laws and interests of every nation has priority over the Union. The issue of illegal immigration is considered a priority on the agenda of the aforementioned opposition party, in addition to the high cost of living and inflation in the prices of basic consumer goods. Right-wing parties who are close to Russia have also exploited the difficult economic situation of Austrians suffering from high living costs, which has increased since the war in Ukraine. According to a Eurobarometer survey, right-wing parties will win between 20 and 30 percent of the seats in the Eu ropean Parliament elections, while another survey saw participation rates declining to 50 percent after it reached 72 percent in 1995, when Austria joined the European Union. With atrocities happening in Gaza, which Austrians sympathize with widely, leading to many of them criticizing the "shameful" positions of their rulers regarding the genocide of Palestinian people, in comparison to the position to the war in Ukraine. The number of members of the European Parliament is currently at 705, divided among the 27 member states, with the most populous countries are represented the largest. Germany is represented by 96 members, while small countries such as Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus are represented by 6 members only. Austria will have 20 seats in the elections instead of the current 19. Source: Kuwait News Agency