New Austrian anti-lockdown party seeking more seats after election coup

FILE PHOTO: Chairs and tables line up in front of a cafe during preparations for the reopening of restaurants as part of an easing of the country's lockdown restrictions amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria May 18, 2021. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

VIENNA (Reuters) - A new Austrian political party that opposes lockdowns, compulsory mask-wearing and other coronavirus restrictions hopes to spread across the country after surprisingly securing seats in one of Austria's nine provincial parliaments on Sunday.

People Freedom Fundamental Rights (MFG), a newly created party that campaigned online and with a tour of bars and restaurants, stunned many observers by securing 6.2% of the vote in Upper Austria's election on Sunday, above the 4% threshold required to enter the provincial parliament.