"Krone NÖ" commentary

Who will win in Lower Austria? The long trembling!

Commenting on political events in Lower Austria: "NÖ Krone" boss Lukas Lusetzky.

(Bild: Krone Kreativ)

Until the very end, the ÖVP and FPÖ are in a neck-and-neck race for first place in the Lower Austrian parliamentary elections. "Krone" head of department Lukas Lusetzky analyzes the election evening for you.

"The state result will be close," could be heard in the party headquarters in St. Pölten on Sunday evening - the ÖVP and FPÖ were calculating and hoping right up to the end. For the SPÖ, third place was clear.

In Lower Austria, the "heartland of the People's Party", the election for the ÖVP will also be decided nationwide - this statement still holds true. But the close neck-and-neck race alone showed that the political landscape has also changed in Lower Austria.

Yet the election campaign in Lower Austria was thoroughly peaceful. This was because the devastating floods hit our state during the most politically heated phase. Standing together, helping and cleaning up was the order of the day. Political haggling took a back seat.

Blue parties strong in black strongholds
The good performance of the Freedom Party will probably be a wake-up call for the ÖVP: It is precisely in former black strongholds, in the countryside and in small communities, that the Freedom Party is particularly strong this time. If the People's Party does not want to lose many votes in the municipalities again in the municipal elections on 26 January 2025, it must prove that change is possible. And it seems that new approaches are needed in traditionally conservative Lower Austria.

The Freedom Party now has a tailwind thanks to this result. While a "time of change" is dawning for other parties, the FPÖ in Lower Austria apparently just needs to stay the course . . .