Date is fixed

Styria elects new state parliament on November 24

Styrian Governor Christopher Drexler and Deputy Governor Anton Lang (left)

(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

It is the end of the super election year 2024: Styria will elect a new provincial parliament on November 24, with Christopher Drexler having to defend the provincial governor's seat for the ÖVP. Also fixed: the Styrian municipal council elections will take place on March 23, 2025.

There has been repeated speculation as to whether Styria will elect a provincial parliament a few months earlier, as was the case in 2019. Back then, ÖVP state governor Hermann Schützenhöfer seized the opportunity and sailed to a brilliant election victory (36%) in the slipstream of the Sebastian Kurz hype. 

This time, the omens for Schützenhöfer's successor Christopher Drexler are not so good: the ÖVP has recently lost significantly in all elections, including the most recent one for the European Parliament. Polls in Styria show the FPÖ consistently in the lead - despite the financial scandal in Graz and investigations by the public prosecutor's office into the lead candidate Mario Kunasek, who strictly rejects all accusations. 

Sebastian Kurz and Hermann Schützenhöfer celebrate the ÖVP victory in the 2019 Styrian state elections.

(Bild: ERWIN SCHERIAU / APA / picturedesk.com)

"We will work until the last day"
Drexler has been in office for two years, according to the polls he has not yet been able to build up a bonus and is not yet a "provincial father". Every week is therefore important for him - and the legislative period will be fully utilized in line with this logic. It has been known since Thursday: On November 24, Styrians will be asked to go to the polls for the third time this year (after the EU elections in June and the National Council elections in September) - it is the last possible date.

"Our government stands for trusting cooperation in the interests of the people of Styria. We will work until the last day," Drexler and his SPÖ deputy Anton Lang emphasize in a joint statement. They appeal to all parties to treat each other fairly.

Let's hold on to the good Styrian climate - we as the state government will do everything we can to achieve this.

Christopher Drexler und Anton Lang

Concerns about FPÖ mobilization
What is feared within the ÖVP: that the FPÖ under Herbert Kickl will triumph in the National Council elections, but that a coalition will then be forged without the Freedom Party - Drexler himself is a supporter of black-red as in Styria. If the winner of the FPÖ election at federal level comes away empty-handed, this could further mobilize their voters in Styria. Drexler has to live with this risk.

Even if things have not been going well for the SPÖ recently: Anton Lang is not without a chance of surprisingly finishing first. The affable man from Leoben hardly causes any trouble and doesn't go out on a limb politically - possibly a recipe for success in times of political exasperation.

According to the polls, the KPÖ can expect to make gains. It will be difficult for the Greens to defend their good result from 2019 - the year of the "Fridays for Future" movement (12%). The NEOS hope to be represented in the state parliament with three instead of two seats in future.

Municipal elections on March 23, 2025
The date for the Styrian municipal elections has also already been set: It will be March 23, 2025, marking a return to the traditional March date for the Grüne Mark. In 2020, the ballot had to be postponed to June due to the first coronavirus lockdown. There will be no election in the provincial capital of Graz, where the legislative period for KPÖ mayor Elke Kahr will last until 2026.