Only Sobotka worse

Trust index: total crash for Lena Schilling

Not only Schilling, but also the Green leadership has lost significant ground with voters.

(Bild: APA/Robert Jäger)

The accusations against Green EU election candidate Lena Schilling have caused her poll ratings to plummet. In the current APA/OGM trust index, she plummeted by an unprecedented 33 points to a trust score of minus 50, putting her in second-last place in the trust ranking.

Behind her is only National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP). FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl also enjoys more trust than Schilling. As OGM head Wolfgang Bachmayer explained, the other top EU candidates also lost ground in the politician trust index compared to the last survey at the end of February, but to a lesser extent.

Not only Schilling, but also the Green leadership has clearly lost ground with voters.

(Bild: APA/Robert Jäger)

Reinhold Lopatka (ÖVP) lost three points in the balance of "trust" and "no trust" to now minus 15, Andreas Schieder (SPÖ) lost two points to also minus 15, Harald Vilimsky (FPÖ) lost five points to now minus 40, and Helmut Brandstätter (NEOS) lost four points to now minus ten. "Election campaigns are not a sympathy contest", was Bachmayer's comment.

Here you can see the results in detail:

There were also losses for the Green leadership: federal spokesman Werner Kogler and club leader Sigrid Maurer lost six and four points to minus 24 and minus 29 respectively. However, behind Schilling, the second biggest drop was suffered by Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) with minus ten points to minus 31. "The sympathy for a 41-hour week - even if she didn't say so - was consistently addressed by the SPÖ," said Bachmayer.

Babler makes up for February's fall
The Schilling case masks other, sometimes remarkable, changes in politicians' confidence. SPÖ leader Andreas Babler, for example, has gained five points (now minus 23) and is thus making up for his fall in February, when he was openly criticized by party grandees and top trade unionists from his own party, as the OGM leader recalled.

The red duo Babler (left) and Schieder

(Bild: APA/Robert Jäger)

There is positive news for some ÖVP politicians. Chancellor Karl Nehammer (plus 2 to minus 27), Sobotka (plus 6 to minus 55, but still last in the ranking), party chairman August Wöginger (plus 3 to minus 28) and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (plus 2 to minus 8) were able to improve the trust placed in them in small steps, even if they are still in the trust deficit.

First place for Federal President Van der Bellen
Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen (plus 1 to plus 23) and the Second President of the National Council Doris Bures (SPÖ - plus 2 to plus 10) remain at the top of the trust pyramid. Green Health Minister Johannes Rauch (minus 1 to plus 5) and ÖVP Labor Minister Martin Kocher (minus 3 to plus 3) are the only members of the government with positive confidence ratings.

For the APA/OGM Confidence Index, 1341 online interviews were conducted between May 8 and 15 with Austrians aged 16 and over who are eligible to vote. The maximum fluctuation margin is +/- 2.7 percent.