Sebastian Kurz's conservative party has clearly won the Austrian snap election but lack the seats to form a majority. The People's Party will now seek a coalition in order to form a government. 

Kurz's previous coalition partner, the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), has been caught up in a corruption scandal that many thought would harm the conservatives. However, his reformed party had been polling above 30 percent for months despite losing a vote of confidence in parliament back in May.

The People's Party secured almost 38 percent of the vote. Meanwhile the FPO came out of the poll with just above 16 percent.

"I think the reason for this was related to the turn out of FPO voters," says Julia Partheymueller at the Vienna Centre for Electoral Research. "People who are critical of immigration, they have not changed their minds, but they did not feel so encouraged to turn out in these elections. The FPO lost a lot of voters to the camp of non-voters.”

After Sunday's polls, the new chairman of the party, Norbert Hofer said he would focus on reforming the FPO rather than joining in any possible new coalition talks.

The Social Democrats, who have run Austria with the Austrian People's Party in a "Grand Coalition" for over 44 years came second. Austria's Green Party, buoyed by voter's concerns over climate change, came third and the relatively new liberal Neos also clinched some more parliamentary seats, taking just over 8 percent. 

The People's Party's potential coalition partners are limited. The Freedom Party is seemingly uninterested after its leader Norbert Hofer told the media the result meant his party is "preparing for opposition." Where as, the Greens, some might argue, are too politically polar. 

There may be little option but to return to a union with the Social Democrats but when Kurz came into power in 2017, he promised changes from such a coalition that was burdened with political paralysis and infighting.