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World|politics|October 16, 2017 / 12:41 PM
31-year-old Kurz declares victory in Austria election to become Europe's youngest leader

AKIPRESS.COM - The leader of Austria's right-leaning People's Party has declared victory in a national election that puts him on track to become Europe's youngest head of government.

The Austrian Foreign Minister, Sebastian Kurz, claimed the win on Sunday night after projections gave his party a comfortable lead with more than 90 per cent of the ballots counted, SMH reported.

Mr Kurz 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).

"I am truly overwhelmed," Kurz told cheering supporters at an election party after polls closed. "We made the impossible possible. Thank you very much for your commitment and this historic success."

At 31, Kurtz will be the world's youngest leader after Vanessa D'Ambrosio, 28, regent of San Marino, finishes her rotating co-leadership arrangement at the end of October. He is two years younger than North Korea's Kim Jong-un and eight years younger than France's Emmanuel Macron.

But without an outright majority, Kurz will need to form a coalition to govern. He repeatedly declined to say which option he favoured, adding that he wanted to await the count of postal ballots that will settle the race for second place.

The bulk of those ballots, which are roughly a sixth of those cast, will be counted on Monday.

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