The Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) won a historic victory in the elections in the southern state of Styria.
Some 35.6 percent of Styrians voted for the FPÖ, a record result for the party and almost 20 percent more than the last vote. The leading provincial party, the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), is expected to get around 25 percent, which is almost a 10-point drop from their previous showing. The Social Democrats (SPÖ) are also now only at 21.1 percent.
The support of the Greens has almost halved since the last election, only Neosz remained unchanged at 5.8 percent, while the Austrian Communist Party (KPÖ) finished at around 5-6 percent.
State Party Chairman of the FPÖ and Former Minister of Defense of Austria Mario Kunasek said, “This is the best result the FPÖ has ever achieved in Styria. The Styrians have given us enormous confidence today, for which I express my sincere thanks. This is a historic success for the Styrian FPÖ, which is due to the right direction we have followed in recent years. With the topics of healthcare, migration, transport and the economy, we focused on the right issues and put the right solutions on the table. We accept the result with humble responsibility.”
He added that after the party committee meetings, negotiations will be held with all other parties represented in the state parliament in accordance with the state constitution. At the center of all these negotiations should be a policy that focuses on the people of Styria, Kunasek announced.
FPÖ federal party chairman Herbert Kickl also spoke following the elections stating: “Today the people of Styria have made history: for the first time they have made the FPÖ the strongest political force in the state parliament with the best result in history, thus continuing the liberal wave of renewal. I would like to thank all voters from the bottom of my heart and congratulate the election winner Mario Kunasek and his outstanding team of Styrian Freedom Party members on this great success”
Meanwhile, ÖVP candidate Christopher Drexler expressed his dismay, blaming party leadership by saying that “federal politics influenced this election like never before. During the many conversations with the voters in the districts, most people did not understand why the federal president did not give the FPÖ a mandate to form a government. Thanks to Vienna and the federal president, we are puppets of federal politics.”
Notably, the FPÖ, despite winning the most votes in federal elections, was locked out of negotiations to form a federal government. The move was seen as a betrayal of Austrian voters. Since then, the FPÖ has only grown in popularity.
Kickl also addressed the ÖVP’s decision to form a coalition with left-wing parties instead of the FPÖ.
He said it therefore remains to be seen whether this further crushing election defeat in Styria “gives the reasonable forces in the ÖVP the courage to make a lasting correction to (Austrian Chancellor) Karl Nehammer’s left turn towards an Austro-loser traffic light coalition.”
