"Secret" mechanisms

Which Carinthian could make it into the EU?

There are currently no MEPs from Carinthia. What are the chances in the upcoming election?

(Bild: Julian Geier: Junge ÖVP Claudia Arpa: Parlamentsdirektion/Thomas Topf Elisabeth Dieringer-Granza: FPÖ Kärnten Iris Glanzer: NEOS Kärnten Michael Hirzbauer: Grüne Kärnten)

Ignorance is no argument for not taking responsibility. Here you can find out what the EU elections on June 9 are all about and which Carinthians are fighting for your vote.

Admittedly, it is not easy to understand the procedure behind the upcoming EU elections. The question "Are you going to vote?" is often answered with: "I don't know anything about that!" But going to the ballot box is essential, especially in turbulent times! So please understand the following lines as an attempt to explain and motivate.

How the EU election works
The parties submit their election proposals - commonly known as electoral lists - to the electoral authority in good time. This involves ranking the candidates. The number of votes a party receives determines which of them will ultimately be elected to represent Austria in the EU Parliament.

However, Austria is only entitled to a total of 20 seats (previously there were 19). So what are the chances of the Carinthian EU candidates, who can look forward to more or less attractive places on the list?

The Carinthian candidates, their positions and the EU election results from 2019

(Bild: KRONE KREATIV)

Another blank for Carinthia? 
Based on the current polls, the ÖVP would receive 22%, the SPÖ 23% and 24%, the Freedom Party 28%, the Greens 10% and Neos 12% and 15% of the vote. As the chart (above) shows, only the FPÖ and Neos would make gains compared to the 2019 EU elections. Accordingly, only the FP candidate Elisabeth Dieringer-Granza and possibly Claudia Arpa from the Social Democrats have a realistic chance of winning a mandate as an MEP.

A glimmer of hope
But there is still a glimmer of hope for the Carinthian candidates who are in a slightly lower position. Because on June 9, voters can also cast a preferential vote on their ballot paper - in other words, give special support to a candidate. If a politician receives a certain number of preferential votes, they are ranked first and receive a direct mandate. Specifically, this is five percent of the party result. In other words, if a party receives 100,000 votes, 5,000 preferential votes are needed to be ranked first.