"Krone" commentary

All winners – except the FPÖ

Analyzed for the "Krone": Andreas Mölzer

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

There was great relief when the first projection of the Vorarlberg state election was published on Sunday afternoon. There was no sign of a duel between the black state governor and his Freedom Party challenger. Instead, the ÖVP has a lead of around ten percent.

And so the leaders of the People's Party, as well as those of the Social Democrats, the Greens and the NEOS could actually all see themselves as election winners.

ON THE ONE HAND, this is quite understandable, as the declared aim of all the other parties was to prevent the Freedom Party from making a breakthrough in the Ländle, as it had done two weeks earlier in the National Council elections.

OTHERWISE, it is quite remarkable that the ÖVP is now presenting itself as the election winner in another election in which it has suffered its worst result for decades with huge losses. And the Greens, like the ÖVP, only lost six percent. Even the SPÖ, traditionally weak in Vorarlberg, was able to maintain its single-digit result. And the NEOS once again celebrated a triumphant election success, even though they also remained in single figures. So it's all election winners!

With the exception of the Vorarlberg Freedom Party, however. They were unable to deliver the neck-and-neck race predicted by their opponents. They only doubled from 14 to 28 percent.