The NR election in Carinthia

Almost like under Jörg Haider: FPÖ doubles in size!

The Carinthian Freedom Party was in sheer ecstasy: No wonder, given the result. Only the shouts of "Gernot" were missing.

(Bild: Evelyn Hronek/EVELYN HRONEK)

September 29, 2024 is an unqualified day of celebration for the FPÖ. The blue party is not only number 1 in the federal government for the first time, but is also back with a vengeance in Carinthia.

"We are aware of our responsibility and will handle it carefully," says Gernot Darmann, Carinthia's FP top candidate for the National Council. Erwin Angerer, head of the provincial party, almost echoes this: "We will handle this voter trust very carefully". That already sounds very statesmanlike in view of the jubilant situation. After all, the FPÖ has almost doubled in our federal state and has returned to the heights it reached under Jörg Haider. In 2004, the Freedom Party even achieved 42.5 percent in the state. "The work starts tomorrow, we are highly motivated," Darmann outlines.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

Kaiser is diplomatic
The SPÖ is once again in a grave mood. The leader of the party, Peter Kaiser, had already been struggling with the drop of nine percent after last year's state elections, even though it was the second best result after Leopold Wagner. "The result is painful and in no way meets our expectations and certainly not mine or those of the Carinthian SPÖ," he says clearly but diplomatically, while party colleagues are already firing back.

First critical comments against Babler
Such as Maximilian Rakuscha, member of the provincial parliament: "The federal party - with an emphasis on the Viennese - bears full responsibility. You can have the best people in the federal states, such as Philip Kucher, for example; if the issues are so far removed from the reality of life, nothing will help." The call for Peter Kaiser could now become louder once again; after all, the Carinthian governor, who is considered calm and level-headed, is Babler's deputy at federal level.

The ÖVP is almost satisfied despite heavy losses. Over 20 percent would have been the target. "The Carinthian result is respectable," says top candidate Gabriel Obernosterer. And on the FP success: "The voters have voted."

In Carinthia, too, the NEOS came first. And the Greens remain far from any kind of success, despite the Carinthian top candidate Olga Voglauer, who has repeatedly attracted attention in the National Council. Since a series of elections, the Green Party has been on a steady downward trend; its participation in government has obviously not been able to make a lasting impression on green issues either in Carinthia or at federal level. 

Despite hopes to the contrary, the minor parties have hardly been able to show any perceptible signs of life in Carinthia either.