Who is Sebastian Kurz? Meet the man set to become Austria’s youngest ever chancellor at 31

Sebastian Kurz is set to become Austria’s youngest-ever chanceloor at 31 years old after exit polls showed his People’s Party (OVP) winning the Austrian election 2017.

The FPO are forecast to win 31 per cent of the vote, and are likely to form a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), who are in second place with 29 per cent.

Mr Kurz would also become the youngest world leader, ahead of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, believed to be 33, and France’s Emmanuel Macron, 39.

Mr Kurz has been widely compared to Mr Macron both for his age and his campaign model.

While he stopped short of creating a new party, Mr Kurz has rebranded and reinvigorated what is now know as the New People’s Party.

His campaign has been centred around a vision of “something new” – although critics point out that the OVP has been in government for 30 straight years.

Like Mr Macron’s En Marche! did earlier this year, the OVP endorsed a gender-balanced list of independent candidates, scrapping its traditional selection process.

But where En Marche! veered slightly to the left, OVP has moved further into right-wing territory since Mr Kurz was elected leader in May.

The party has vowed to take a hard line on immigration, with plans to block refugee routes into Europe through the west Balkans and across the Mediterranean.

Under the OVP’s plans, migrants would not be able to claim full benefits.

Mr Kurz has also supported a ban on the face veil and has pledged to close down Islamic nurseries.

His critics have accused him of copying policies long-endorsed by the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) and making them more palatable to voters.

Analyst Thomas Hofer told CNN: ”Kurz has managed to take over the Freedom Party issues and frame them in a socially acceptable way. 

“He has appealed to those who could have voted for the Freedom Party.” 

Mr Kurz was first elected to Austria’s parliament in September 2013. 

In December he became the country’s foreign minister. 

At the time of his swearing-in, he was Austria’s youngest-ever government minister and the youngest foreign minister in the world.

In May 2017 he was elected party leader after the resignation of former Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner.