Austria's future direction lay in doubt Monday after two far-right, anti-immigration parties made big gains in national elections while the governing coalition lost seats in Parliament, AP reorted. The conservative Austrian People's Party and the Social Democrats had their worst showings since World War II. Two rightist parties _ the Freedom Party and the Alliance for the Future of Austria _ won a combined 29 percent in Sunday's balloting. Both parties advocate an end to immigration and the expulsion of foreigners and asylum seekers who commit crimes. At least one of the far-right parties could participate in a new government. Talks are expected to begin later this week and could drag on for months. «It's going to take weeks and will be very turbulent,» said political commentator Fritz Plasser. The right-wing parties had not been expected to consider joining forces, given the animosity between their leaders. But the firebrand Joerg Haider, who now leads the Alliance, said it was something worth thinking about. And Freedom Party chief Heinz-Christian Strache suggested he was interested in becoming chancellor. Interior Minister Maria Fekter said the center-left Social Democrats won 29.71 percent of the vote, followed by the People's Party with 25.61 percent. The two parties' grand coalition fell apart in July over issues ranging from when to introduce tax reform to an apparent EU policy reversal by the Social Democrats. The Freedom Party received 18.01 percent of the vote. The Alliance for the Future of Austria had 10.98 percent, preliminary results indicated. A total of 183 parliamentary seats were at stake. If the preliminary results are confirmed, Strache's Freedom Party will have won 35 _ compared with 21 won in 2006 elections _ while the Alliance will have 21 seats, up from seven. The Social Democrats looked likely to lose 10 of their seats to 58, while the People's Party would drop from 66 to 50 seats. If they resurrect their coalition, they could still govern without either of the far-right parties.
