Vienna - Although many compare Austrian right-wing leader Heinz-Christian Strache with his erstwhile mentor Joerg Haider, the younger politician has overtaken his political godfather when its comes to popularity and radicalism.

Both of the two parties set to win Sunday's elections, the Social Democratic Party and the conservative People's Party, have ruled out a coalition with Strache's Freedom Party, but the perennially bronzed Strache, 39, was set to gain political influence at least in parliament as his party was predicted to come in third with 17 to 20 per cent of the vote.

When Joerg Haider, 58, left the Freedom Party in 2005 to form the Alliance for the Future of Austria, many doubted that Strache would stand a chance.

But in the 2006 elections, Strache won 11 per cent of the vote for the Freedom Party on an anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic campaign while Haider barely managed to win enough votes for his party to enter parliament.

In the current election race, the Freedom Party leader addressed the lower-income population by connecting immigration with the topic of social welfare.

"Social welfare system instead of immigration," ran a headline in a party pamphlet distributed to households in Vienna.

Strache, a dental technician by training, had contacts with neo-Nazis in his youth. Photos of young Strache have surfaced that show him in fatigues at a military-style training camp with neo-Nazis.

Several local Freedom Party politicians have also caused scandals for making hateful comments about foreigners and Islam.

Two party officials are accused of incitement and face trials after the elections for making sexually offensive remarks about Muslims and Turks. (dpa)