Young conservative star Sebastian Kurz is on track to become Austria's next leader after Sunday's election, but his party is far short of a majority and likely to seek a coalition with the resurgent far right.
Kurz, who is just 31 and currently the nation's foreign minister, managed to propel his People's Party to first place by taking a hard line on immigration that left little space between it and the far-right Freedom Party (FPO).
Both parties increased their share of the vote from the last parliamentary election in 2013, projections showed, marking a sharp shift to the right in the wake of Europe's migration crisis. Chancellor Christian Kern's Social Democrats were in a close race with the FPO for second place.