Sebastian Kurz is set to become the continent’s youngest leader after his Austrian People’s Party topped the polls after Sunday’s vote.
But, despite warnings from the EU, he may need to form a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) to secure a government.
Now reports in the Polish press suggest the FPO could insist Austria joins the Visegrad group, a four-nation alliance of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia that is opposed to immigration, as a condition of forming a coalition.
The Visegrad leaders have previously refused migrant quotas approved by a western-dominated majority of European Union member states.
And they also reject proposed EU reforms that would transfer more power from national governments to Brussels institutions.
Joining the alliance was supported by the FPO in its election campaign.
In a debate before the poll, FPO chief Heinz-Christian Strache pledged: “We will strengthen contact with the Visegard states and it would be nice and good if we could maybe even become a member of the Visegrad Group.”
Mr Kurz has also praised right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for building a border fence to keep migrants out of EU territory.
Supporters hope that, with the addition of Austria, the Visegrad nations could hold greater sway in the EU and lead the fight against open borders and an ever-closer union.
An editorial by Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita urged Mr Kurz to join up, saying: “If you join V4, it will increase the importance of the group in the EU game – not just the future of immigration.”
Mr Orban, along with his allies, has been a thorn in the side of western EU leaders, lashing out at the visions of Jean-Claude Juncker and French President Emmanuel Macron for closer integration.
And this weekend, on a trip to Slovakia, he hit out at the bloc over its borders policy, telling them: “I have to say firmly, that all the institutions of the EU have utterly failed.
“Neither the European Commission, nor the European Council, nor the European Parliament protected the Schengen Treaty.”
In a letter to the new Austrian leader this week, Mr Juncker urged him to to build a “pro-European government” in a clear warning against joining with the FPO.
He wrote: “Soon, Austria will play an outstanding role being the presidency of the council of the European Union.
“Under Austria’s responsibility a number of important decisions regarding the European Union will have to be made.
“Therefore I wish you great success building a stable and pro-European Government and I look forward to working together in the future.”