(ANSA-AP) - BRUSSELS, 26 MAG - A projection for Austrian public television and the country's national news agency points to a big win for Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's center-right party in the European Parliament election, with the far-right Freedom Party finishing far behind in third place. The projection was released after polls closed Sunday in Austria. It put support for Kurz's center-right People's Party at 34.5%, with the center-left Social Democrats at 23.5%, the Freedom Party at 17.5% and the Greens at 13.5% support. It was based on 5,200 interviews conducted from Tuesday to Sunday. The vote for the joint European Parliament is a the first test in Austria ahead of a national election in September that Kurz called a week ago after a scandal erupted surrounding the Freedom Party's leader. Heinz-Christian Strache quit as party leader and vice chancellor, and the governing coalition between the People's Party and the Freedom Party then collapsed.

(ANSA-AP).