Styrian election 2024

Can these three women surprise in Graz?

Andrea Kamper (MFG), Maria Hubmer-Mogg (DNA) and Claudia Schönbacher (KFG)(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Christian Jauschowetz (3), stock.adobe.com)

The KFG, DNA and MFG lists are only competing in the Styrian election on Sunday in Graz and the surrounding area of Graz and are fishing in similar voter groups as the favored FPÖ. They are headed by women. Getting into the state parliament is a major hurdle. 

Anyone who does not live in the districts of Graz and Graz-Umgebung will probably not have come across these abbreviations in the Styrian election campaign. KFG, DNA and MFG. These three lists are only running in constituency 1 - the provincial capital and its growing surrounding area. The aim must be to win a basic mandate here in order to enter the state parliament. This required more than 12,000 votes in the 2019 election.

The KFG with top candidate Claudia Schönbacher was only founded last year after the Graz city councillor and some of her fellow campaigners were kicked out of the FPÖ in the wake of the financial scandal. Since then, they have sharply criticized their former party and have dedicated themselves to clearing up the affair. The "Korruptionsfreie Bürgerliste" has - like all other "small" parties - a small budget and focuses on small-scale, citizen-oriented work in the districts of Graz. In the election campaign, the focus is on issues such as animal welfare, driving and transparency.

Two vaccination critics want to enter the state parliament
Maria Hubmer-Mogg did surprisingly well in the EU elections with almost four percent of the vote with her DNA list. During the pandemic, the doctor was a leading figure in the movement that mobilized against many coronavirus measures. During the election campaign, she positioned herself as a health expert, for example in the area of children's mental health.

The MFG with top candidate Andrea Kamper also comes from the anti-vaccination movement. The social education worker from southern Styria is calling for a comprehensive review of the coronavirus pandemic.

The leap into the state parliament seems to be a very big hurdle for all three lists. However, they are fishing in a similar pool of voters as the FPÖ and could therefore cost the blue party a few thousand votes.