• A couple of months ago, the world was in awe when France had its youngest leader ever in Emmanuel Macron. European politics seem to be dominated by the young, and this time around Austria is set to have the world's youngest leader, a 31 year old conservative called Sebastian Kurz.

    The projections from the Austrian poll suggest he is set to win the elections. Sebastian Kurz is set to become the next chancellor of Austria and, at 31, the world's youngest leader. That's two years younger than North Korea's Kim Jong Un and seven years younger than Ireland's Leo Varadkar.

    The People's Party was set to win more than 31%. It is so far unclear whether the Social Democrats or the far-right Freedom Party will finish second.

    Short of a majority, Mr Kurz's party could seek an alliance with the anti-immigration Freedom Party.

    Related
    Top Reasons Why Africa has Old Presidents

    Top Reasons Why Africa has Old Presidents

    Is simply being icons of pan-Africanism enough to substantiate prolonged rule?

    Addressing his supporters, Mr Kurz said: "It is time for change in this country. Today is a strong order for us, to change this country, and I say thank you to you all who made this possible.

    "I'm overwhelmed, I am happy, and I look forward to working for Austria."

    This is not a phenomenon accustomed to Africa, where many of the leaders are in their old ages, presiding over populations that are youth-driven. In Europe, the perspective of young people has taken centre-stage.

    Known as "Wunderwuzzi" (roughly translated as "one who can walk on water"), Kurz won Austria's general election Sunday with about 31 percent of the vote. Foreign minister at age 27, Kurz took over as leader of the center-right People's Party (OVP) in May and quickly rebranded it and introduced a more extremist stance on immigration.

    Kurz has rebranded the conservative party as the "new" People's Party, and admiration has abounded for him because of this. He shifted the party more toward the right, with some accusing him of "stealing" policies from the FPO (Freedom Party), which has links to Nazi movements.

    Mr Kurz refused to discuss his plans, saying only that he would talk to other parties. He says he wants to wait for final results.