Austrian conservative leader Sebastian Kurz says he will try to form a government with the controversial right-wing Freedom Party (FPO) following his victory in last week's election.

After meeting all the other parties in parliament, Mr Kurz chose - in a widely predicted move - to open talks with a group that shared some of his key policies.

The conservatives and the far-right FPO campaigned for tougher immigration controls and quick deportations of failed asylum seekers.

Mr Kurz's party promised a crackdown on radical Islam but FPO leaders went even further, saying Islam "has no place" in Austria.

The conservative leader said his FPO counterpart Heinz-Christian Strache had shown "a will to bring about change in Austria together" and announced he hopes to form a government by Christmas.


Mr Kurz's party won last week's parliamentary election with 31.5% of the vote, meaning he must form a coalition with either the FPO or the Social Democrats (SPO) in order to govern effectively.

Image: Austrian People's Party leader Sebastian Kurz has opened coalition talks with the Austrian Freedom Party

The 31-year-old, who is foreign minister in the outgoing administration of Chancellor Christian Kern, has set out terms for any alliance.

The new government, he said, must have a "clear pro-European direction".

"Austria can only be strong if we are not just members of the European Union, but also actively help to strengthen the European Union," he said.

The FPO, on the other hand, wants to leave the EU, and has already demanded control of the interior ministry as a precursor for forming a government.

But Mr Kurz said "negotiations have not started yet".

The FPO, which is expected to accept Mr Kurz's offer after a decade out of power, is a controversial choice.

The party was formed by former Nazis in the 1950s and took office in the 1990s under Jorg Haider, who praised Hitler's employment policies.

It has become more mainstream since and claims to have left its Nazi past behind, but ejections for anti-semitic views are still common.

Last week Mr Kurz promised a "zero tolerance" approach to anti-Semitism in his government.