Green Party Causes Surprise with Spending for NR Election Campaign
Six months after the national council election, most parties have submitted their campaign advertising reports to the Court of Audit. According to these reports, the ÖVP spent the most with 7.9 million euros on the campaign before the national council election. The advertising expenses of the Greens were surprisingly high, spending almost twice as much as the NEOS with 6.6 million euros. ÖVP, SPÖ, NEOS, and Greens all remained below the campaign cost ceiling. FPÖ and KPÖ have not yet submitted their reports.
ÖVP Invested the Most in Campaign Advertising Before National Council Election
The campaign cost ceiling for the national council election was 8.66 million euros. Parties were not allowed to spend more than this amount on campaign advertising in the 82 days before the election on September 29. According to their own statements, the ÖVP spent a total of 7.9 million euros on the campaign between July 9 and September 29. The SPÖ spent slightly less, paying 7 million euros according to their campaign advertising report.
Greens Surprise with High Campaign Budget
The campaign expenses of the significantly smaller Greens were not much lower, reporting 6.6 million euros in campaign advertising expenses. Half of this amount (3.3 million) was spent on outdoor advertising such as posters. The NEOS had a significantly more modest campaign, declaring campaign expenses of 3.5 million euros. The Beer Party, which clearly failed to enter the national council, spent 504,800 euros.
Reports on Campaign Costs from FPÖ and KPÖ Still Missing
Reports from FPÖ and KPÖ are still missing; they have an extension until Monday. According to the party law tightened in 2022, parties must submit their detailed reports on actual campaign costs to the Court of Audit six months after the election. Candidates themselves may invest up to 15,000 euros in their own campaign - anything above that is attributed to the party. Unlike EU elections, there is no campaign cost reimbursement after national council elections since the redesign of party funding in 2012.
In the 2019 national council election, all parties remained within the allowed framework. The ÖVP was just below the then 7-million-euro limit with 6.85 million euros, as determined by the Independent Party Transparency Senate (UPTS) after an audit procedure initiated by the Court of Audit due to a suspected breach. In contrast, there were massive breaches in the 2017 national council campaign, when the ÖVP exceeded the limit by almost six million euros, the FPÖ was also far over the limit with 3.7 million euros, and the SPÖ was slightly over with 400,000 euros.
(APA/Red)
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