The her far-right Freedom Party Austria wins, for the first time, the local elections in the state of Styria, according to a forecast shortly after the end of the voting.

This victory is one show of strength on behalf of the FPÖin the wake of the parliamentary elections in September and while talks on forming a coalition government without his participation continue.

Today’s election in Styria, home to Austria’s second city, Graz, has little immediate national impact but increases pressure on party leaders trying to form a three-way coalition government for the first time since 1949.

Styria is only the second state to be won by the Eurosceptic, pro-Russian FPÖ. The first was Carinthia, the stronghold of then leader Gerg Haider, in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“The victory in Styria is sweeping. I didn’t expect such a resounding result,” FPÖ deputy leader in Styria Stefan Herrmann told national broadcaster ORF.

A screening of the Foresight poll for ORF and the APA news agency showed the FPÖ in first place with 35.3 percent, followed by the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) with 26.6 percent. The estimate, based on a 70% vote count, had a margin of error of one unit.

It is the first time since the Second World War that neither the ÖVP nor the Social Democrats (SPÖ) have won in Styria, a state bordering Slovenia and where actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was born.

The FPÖ will however need a partner to control a majority of seats in the local parliament and form a government.

In contrast to national elections, after which the Austrian president decides to whom he will entrust the formation of the government, in Styria the winning party, in this case the Freedom Party, is automatically invited to form a local government.