Most Austrians would probably agree that Herbert Kickl is polarizing.

His political opponents consider the 56-year-old a "security risk," a designation Chancellor Karl Nehammer of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) has given him.

The more than 1.4 million voters who helped Kickl and his far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) to a stunning election victory in September 2024 see him differently. In winning 28.8% of the vote, the FPÖ, founded in 1956 by former Nazis, became the strongest party in Austria's parliament for the first time.

The FPÖ is currently polling at around 35%, and after coalition talks from the country's centrist government fell apart, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has now officially tasked the far-right party to form a government.

After September's election, surveys from ORF, Austria's public broadcaster, showed that FPÖ voters based their election choice primarily on the party's content. Only 2% said Kickl, the party's top candidate, was the primary reason for their vote.

Kickl has been described as less charismatic than previous FPÖ leaders, a lone wolf who has long operated in the background. Born in 1968 in Villach, a city in southern Austria, he has only given a few interviews to hand-picked media outlets.

Only basic information is known about his personal life. He is married with a son and does triathlons and mountain sports. After completing his military service as a mountain trooper, he studied........

© Deutsche Welle