There are three state elections in Austria this year. In the first ballot, the crisis-ridden Chancellor’s Party ÖVP has to accept a severe setback and will probably lose its absolute majority. The right-wing FPÖ, which leads in nationwide polls, is increasing significantly.
In the first of three state elections in Austria this year, the right-wing FPÖ received almost a quarter of the votes in Lower Austria. In the election in the largest federal state, which is also considered a national political mood test, the party achieved 24.3 percent according to the broadcaster ORF. With a gain of almost ten points, the FPÖ became the second strongest political force behind the conservative ÖVP of Prime Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner, who suffered a severe loss.
The chancellor party ÖVP lost almost ten points and, according to the extrapolation, received 39.9 percent of the votes. “The FPÖ managed to turn this state election into a federal election,” said Mikl-Leitner. Her party, which was burdened by corruption investigations and global crises, slipped to its worst result since 1945. However, Mikl-Leitner ruled out resigning on election night. The 58-year-old must govern in the future without an absolute majority in the state parliament.
The social democratic SPÖ fell behind the FPÖ with 20.8 percent. The results for the Greens were 7.5 percent, for the liberal Neos 6.6 percent.
“Corruption was voted out,” said FPÖ federal party manager Christian Hafenecker on the evening of the election. “This is the beginning,” he added, referring to the state elections in Carinthia in March and in Salzburg in April. In nationwide surveys, the opposition FPÖ has been in first place for weeks, ahead of the SPÖ and the ÖVP in third place.
The right came to end the “ÖVP system” in Lower Austria, as state party leader Udo Landbauer repeatedly emphasized. By that he meant the decades-long dominance of the Conservatives, which is reflected, among other things, in party-politically motivated appointments down to the municipal level. In addition, Landbauer blamed the ÖVP, led by Chancellor Karl Nehammer, for the sharp increase in the number of asylum seekers in the previous year.
According to surveys, the 1.3 million eligible voters made their decision based on national and global issues such as inflation, the environment and climate, as well as asylum and migration. The ÖVP had to struggle with a lack of voter confidence due to corruption investigations in the wake of the Ibiza scandal.
The next national parliamentary election is scheduled for 2024. A few weeks ago, FPÖ party leader Herbert Kickl nevertheless launched a broad poster campaign with the slogans “Fortress Austria – close borders – guarantee security”. On the advertising space, Kickl wears a military green parka with the red, white and red coat of arms of Austria. But even with early elections, a right-wing chancellor would not be a foregone conclusion if the FPÖ won: Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen signaled a few days ago that he did not want to give Kickl a government mandate.
