EU election

Warning shot for the Vorarlberg People’s Party

No one from Vorarlberg will be a member of the EU Parliament in future.

(Bild: AFP/APA/Frederick Florin)

At 8.1 percent, the Vorarlberg People's Party suffered the biggest loss - but still remained number 1 in the state. The Freedom Party can consider itself the winner of the election, with a whopping 8.5 percent.  

Governor Markus Wallner is certainly right in one assessment - the National Council and state parliament elections in the fall will be completely different. And of course the results will also be different. After all, with 26.8 percent in a state election (Wallner won 43.5 percent in 2019), the Vorarlberg People's Party is unlikely to leave any stone unturned.

However, the EU election result should definitely be seen as a warning shot by the Black Party. After all, if you look at the latest polls, a drop of 8 percent is also quite possible in the upcoming elections in the fall.

Harald Vilimsky and Herbert Kickl do not fall into the category of "bandwagoners" in Vorarlberg.

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Speaking of polls: these predict further positive results for the Freedom Party. On Sunday, the Ländle-FPÖ already recorded 8.5 percent more votes than in the 2019 EU elections. But here, too, not all elections are the same. For example, some Vorarlbergers are likely to like the enterprising regional party leader Christof Bitschi much more than EU top candidate Harald Vilimsky or FPÖ federal party leader Herbert Kickl.

Bitschi could also benefit from the "east-west divide" within the FPÖ - the Freedom Party is usually more moderate in the west - and win more than just under 23 percent in the state elections.

Black eye for the Greens
The Vorarlberg Greens got away with a black eye (minus 3.1 percent) in the EU elections. The respectable result of 15.7 percent shows that issues such as climate protection and democracy are very important to the people of Vorarlberg.

While the FPÖ scored particularly well in the districts of Bludenz and Feldkirch, the Greens were convincing in the cities and the larger Bregenzerwald municipalities. In any case, it will be difficult to match the historic 18.9% achieved in 2019 under Johannes Rauch in the state elections.

Rauch will no longer be the Greens' lead candidate in the regional elections in the fall.

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

The NEOS can be satisfied - despite the fact that the Pinks suffered a drop of 1.8% compared to 2019. The excellent Vorarlberg result was due to top candidate Claudia Gamon, who will be the top candidate in the state elections in the fall. It will be exciting to see whether she succeeds in finding her feet at state and municipal level and how she campaigns for individual votes there. It is unlikely to be enough for 15.5 percent, as in the EU elections (the NEOS won 8.5 percent in the 2019 state elections).

Alarmingly low voter turnout
Only a few votes behind the Greens and NEOS is the Vorarlberg SPÖ, which improved its EU election result by around one percent. Like the NEOS, the Ländle-SPÖ is likely to fare worse in the regional elections. Even if a certain spirit of optimism can be felt under party leader Mario Leiter, who won a respectable 22.5 percent in his home town of Bludenz.

Mobilizing voters will be a challenge for all parties. On Sunday, the voter turnout was 50.4 percent - an alarming figure.