Ahead of Schedule: Next State Election to Take Place in Vienna
Ordinarily, the next Vienna election would have been scheduled for the fall. However, citing the domestic political situation and a possible chancellorship of FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl, it was decided to bring the date forward.
The coalition wants to spare the Viennese a months-long election campaign. In the smallest but most populous federal state, the cards will thus be reshuffled relatively soon, and on several levels. Decisions will be made about the composition of a new state parliament or city council. Votes will also be cast for the district representations.
Coalition Invokes Good Relationship
The SPÖ, under party leader and Mayor Michael Ludwig, has now been governing with the NEOS for more than four years. Their leader, Christoph Wiederkehr, is Deputy Mayor and City Councillor. He is responsible for education, integration and youth. The relationship is considered good - despite recent events. Since the NEOS broke off negotiations at the federal level, there has been a cold spell between pink and red. In Vienna, however, it is emphasized that this does not deter them.
In 2020, Ludwig decided against continuing the coalition with the Greens, with whom the SPÖ had governed the city since 2010. The city council election at that time produced almost only winners: The SPÖ achieved 41.6 percent (plus 2 percentage points). The Greens did not suffer from participating in the government. They increased by about 3 percentage points to 14.8 percent - and still found themselves on the opposition bench.
The ÖVP climbed by 11 percentage points, reaching 20.4 percent. The NEOS achieved 7.5 percent, an increase of 1.3 percentage points. The crash of the FPÖ, however, was dramatic. The Blues lost a full 23.7 percentage points. They ended up in last place with 7 percent.
Not the First Rescheduling
There has already been a preponement in the recent past. In 2001, the election was not held in autumn, but in March. The then mayor and SPÖ chief Michael Häupl decided - while Schwarz-Blau was ruling the federation for the first time - to take this step against the will of the coalition partner ÖVP. The election promptly gave the SPÖ an absolute majority of mandates.
The SPÖ is probably not hoping for an "absolute" this time, also because the electoral law has since been changed. This previously favoured larger parties. However, there have hardly been any polls for the Vienna election so far.
SPÖ in Vienna with Plus at National Council Election
Above all, the effects of current developments are completely open. At least the National Council election went well for the SPÖ. They landed in Vienna with a large lead in first place and were able to - unlike in Austria as a whole - even record gains.
Whether the trend continues in the Vienna election will be seen. It is probably relatively certain that the FPÖ will again make significant gains, regardless of whether they co-govern in the federation or not. However, the man who brought about the blue crash with his Ibiza trip also wants to run again. Ex-FPÖ chief Heinz-Christian Strache was already on the start with his "Team HC" in 2020, but did not make it into the city council.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.