State election

ÖVP dominance could be broken

Hardly anyone doubts that Markus Wallner will become governor of Vorarlberg again.

(Bild: VLK/Bernd Hofmeister)

Traditionally, the ÖVP is the number one party in state elections in Vorarlberg. This will also be the case next Sunday, but the gap to other parties could narrow significantly. 

Next Sunday's regional elections will probably be a fateful day for several parties. So far, the ÖVP has been the undisputed winner of every state election in the state's history.

Although hardly anyone doubts that the Christian Socialists will come first again, the gap to the other parties could be much smaller than the "blacks" are used to. The Freedom Party and the Greens are already fighting for the favor of the People's Party in order to be able to co-govern. The FPÖ probably has the better cards. It is also considered to have a better chance of coming second behind the ÖVP.

Against this backdrop, FPÖ top candidate Christof Bitschi has been decidedly relaxed in recent days. The FPÖ is firmly expecting a strong election result, which could surpass the previous best result in a Vorarlberg state election - 27.41 percent (1999). Since the National Council elections, the Greens' leading candidate Daniel Zadra has never tired of emphasizing that the state elections are about deciding the direction of the country, namely black-green or black-blue.

Last election delivered clear results
In the 2019 state election, the People's Party came in at 43.53% (up 1.74%) and was therefore more than clearly ahead of all other parties. In second place were the Greens, the ÖVP's government partner, with 18.89% of the vote (up 1.75), ahead of the Freedom Party (13.93%, down 9.49), which was shaken by "Ibiza-Gate".

Will Daniel Zadra and Eva Hammerer (Greens) make it onto the government bench?

(Bild: Grüne/Kirstin Tödtling)

They were followed by the SPÖ, traditionally weak in Vorarlberg (9.46%, up 0.69) and the NEOS (8.51%, up 1.62).

The fact that the Greens cannot count on a permanent place on the government bench is also reflected in the behavior of Governor Markus Wallner. He repeatedly emphasizes the disagreements with the Greens (keyword S 18), but leaves the option of a coalition renewal open. However, it is questionable whether a cooperation with the Greens will even work out mathematically this time.