Austria’s National Council elections in the final stages of a frenzy

Austria’s new parliament is being elected today. Pre-election polls found the ruling ÖVP just behind the right-wing nationalist FPÖ. It came into focus the day before the election due to a scandal surrounding an SS song.

In Austria, people tend to vote early. Polling stations opened from 6 am onwards. And 1 to 4 pm is very close. In two municipalities, including the capital Vienna, voters can cast their ballots only until 5 p.m.

Austria’s federal chancellor Alexander van der Bellen called on citizens to exercise their right to vote via video message: “If you don’t vote, let others decide. To be honest, I don’t believe it,” van der Bellen said. . “So: don’t get angry later, it’s better to act earlier.”

Surveys look ahead to the FPÖ

For the first time in the National Council elections, the far-right FPÖ has topped the polls. Party leader Herbert Goughlin’s declared target is the presidency. Other parties warn against giggling. A video emerged yesterday showing top FPÖ politicians at a funeral where the SS loyalty song was sung, shortly before the election.

Only the conservative Austrian People’s Party is willing to form a coalition with the FPÖ. She only rules out collaborating with Giggle. The ÖVP clearly won the 2019 election under Sebastian Kurz with more than 37 percent of the vote. It is a good ten percentage points lower than the current surveys, ranking second.

First forecast after 5pm

Heading into the vote this morning, ÖVP top candidate and Federal Chancellor Karl Nehhammer was optimistic that the election would still turn out in his favour. Nehhammer said the party “has put together a strong electoral movement”. “Many conversations with people show that they believe in my work. Now it’s just a matter of me getting the order.”

The first forecast is expected after 5 p.m. It may have a range of volatility of two percentage points or more. Christoph Hoffinger of the Electoral Research Institute expects there won’t necessarily be a clear winner: “We can expect very large changes among many parties. Large urban-rural differences.” For Austria’s many rural communities it is dangerous to draw conclusions from projections in cities, Hoefinger says.

Small parties scale?

The preliminary final result is not likely to be known before 11 pm. Which majority in parliament is possible depends on whether the two smaller parties, the Beer Party and the Communist Party, enter the National Council.

Whether they break the four percent barrier can only be decided on Thursday, when the last postal votes are counted. “If a party has 3.8 percent on election evening, it means they don’t have to give up all hope,” said election analyst Hoffinger.

Once the result is officially announced, the central leader will hold talks with all the parties. The federal president usually entrusts the strongest party to form the government. However, Alexander van der Bellen left it open whether he would do this in the event of an FPÖ electoral victory.