FPÖ wins Austrian national elections, most important ÖVP despite defeat

Elections in the Austrian state of Lower Austria were won by the ruling conservative party ÖVP, despite losing nearly 10 percentage points. Chancellor Nehammer’s ÖVP won 39.9% of the vote, according to forecasts. It’s the state’s worst result since 1945.

Next comes the right-wing populist FPÖ, with 24.2%. This is 9.4 percentage points more than in previous elections. The Social Democrats finished third with 20.6% of the vote, the Greens fourth with 7.6%.

Lower Austria is located in the northeast of the country, around the capital Vienna. It is the largest state in Austria. Elections are therefore also seen as an indicator of national politics.

Because of this result, the national government coalition of the ÖVP and the Greens no longer has a majority in the Bundesrat, the Austrian upper house. This makes it more difficult for Parliament to pass legislation.

According to polls, people were guided by national themes such as inflation, migration and climate policy when voting. Chancellor and ÖVP leader Nehammer said of the result that these are bad times for those in power because many people are unhappy. His party is also troubled by a corruption investigation.

FPÖ leader Kickl spoke of a “freedom day” for the people of Lower Austria and expects consequences for politics in Vienna. In national polls, right-wing populists are now the largest party, despite the Ibiza corruption case from 2019. There are two more national elections in March and April.