6 months before the election

The scramble for list places has begun

The seats in the National Council are highly coveted and well paid at 10,531 euros gross per month.

(Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK)

The National Council will be re-elected in six months' time. The 183 seats are fiercely contested. The candidate lists are drawn up according to certain logics, with each party having its own. Alliances, districts, trade unions, front organizations, genders and much more have to be taken into account. The "Krone" provides an insight.

The tussle will be particularly fierce for the ÖVP because it will almost certainly lose the most seats. In the 2019 National Council elections, the Turks won 37.5 percent and 71 seats. Depending on the scenario, the People's Party could lose up to 30 seats, calculates IFDD head Christoph Haselmayer.

This will not be an act of charity
"The ÖVP's list compilation will not be an act of charity", an insider was recently quoted as saying in a newspaper. There is indeed initial animosity in Lower Austria, for example, and some people feel they have been treated badly. The ÖVP state list is headed by Interior Minister Gerhard Karner ahead of Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner. Surprisingly, Harald Servus is running in third place, ahead of the current mandataries Andreas Hanger, Fritz Ofenauer, Lukas Brandweiner, Johannes Schmuckenschlager and Irene Neumann-Hartberger. The ÖVP logic behind it: ÖAABer before Bauernbündlerin before Wirtschaftsbündler.

Harald Servus from Lower Austria has overtaken a number of incumbents.

(Bild: Imre Antal)

Babler not on the state list
The red list from Lower Austria also caused surprise because SPÖ chairman Andreas Babler does not appear on it and is only running on the federal list. Although it was customary in previous elections for the top candidate to also head the list for his federal state, the SPÖ defends this procedure by claiming that Babler is not taking a seat away from anyone from Lower Austria. Seats in the National Council are allocated from bottom to top: First come the regional lists, then the state lists and then the federal lists.

Parties must look for regional balance
There are a total of 39 regional constituencies, which parties must also take into account. One example of this is the SPÖ list in Burgenland. Regional elections will be held there in 2025. State governor and party leader Hans Peter Doskozil has to find a balance between the districts. The red Burgenland party currently has two seats in the National Council, but this is unlikely to increase. The current member of parliament Christian Drobits is no longer running for the National Council, but for the provincial parliament. The former Illmitz mayor Max Köllner for the north and the Inzenhof mayor Jürgen Schabhüttl for the district of Güssing are to be elected to the National Council.

Drobits will return to Burgenland.

(Bild: Team Drobits)

Trade union has special significance for the SPÖ
The trade union representatives have a special position in the SPÖ. The head of the FSG and the boss of the metalworkers usually always have a mandate. Josef Muchitsch, the head of the Bauholz trade union, is currently also a member of the National Council. Rainer Wimmer was chairman of the PRO-GE trade union until a year ago.

Grassroots democracy prevails among the Greens and the Pinks
For the Greens and NEOS, it is not so much a question of sub-organizations and regions, but of grassroots democracy. The state lists and the national list are what count. The "Krone" reaches Green energy spokesman Lukas Hammer just as he is writing his application for the Vienna state list. The candidates are elected by the respective provincial assemblies, the federal list by the federal assembly. There is no overriding body that changes or co-determines the ranking, explains Hammer. At least half of the candidates for the Ecos must be women. 

The Green Party's Lukas Hammer is running in Vienna.

(Bild: krone.tv)

Three-stage selection process for the NEOS
The NEOS have a three-stage selection process. The first is the citizens' vote, in which every citizen can register and award points to the candidates. The second stage is the committees in the federal states and the third stage is the Federal Assembly. Points are awarded in all of these stages. As in the case of the Greens, the issues are more important to the Pinks than the origin of the candidates. For example, education and the economy are particularly important for the Liberals. 

FPÖ can expect a 60% increase in MPs
According to Haselmayer, the FPÖ can look forward to the election with confidence, as it will gain up to 22 seats; it currently has 31. The FPÖ does not have any classic front organizations that need to be taken into account. But they make sure that they have people from all areas, such as farmers, lawyers or doctors, says MP and notary Harld Stefan in an interview with the "Krone". The state lists are drawn up by the committees in the states in consultation with the Federal Executive Committee. Of course, there is no gender parity.