"Krone" commentary

Blue roses for the blacks

Commentary on the major issues affecting Austria: Klaus Herrmann, Managing Editor-in-Chief

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

The FPÖ election winner in Styria, Mario Kunasek, has made his decision: He will - somewhat surprisingly - choose the ÖVP as his government partner. This makes the fifth federal state black-blue/blue-black. This puts pressure on Karl Nehammer.

The coalition partner election in Styria - it was a little reminiscent of the TV Bachelor: the outstanding election winner Kunasek from the FPÖ, who is charmed by the election losers, the previous ÖVP provincial governor Christopher Drexler and the previous SPÖ deputy provincial governor Anton Lang. Kunasek looked both of them deep in the eye and, it is said, wrestled with himself until the very end. Who offers more? Who will come closer to the Blue Party? Who is better to work with? And: Who offers the more stable partnership? And - certainly not entirely irrelevant - what does Herbert Kickl want?

The Styrian elections took place eight weeks after the federal elections - but when it comes to forming a government, the winner of the Blue Party election, Kunasek, has already overtaken Nehammer, who had been tasked with forming the federal government, just one week after the election - and even more so his federal party leader Kickl. As is well known, no one wanted or wants to form a government with him and the Federal President did not even want to entrust him with this task.

In Styria, things have been and still are very different. First of all: with Kunasek, the FPÖ achieved a much more convincing result in the state with just under 35% than with Kickl in the federal government. The latter also took first place - but with 28.8 percent remained just below the 30 percent mark.

Secondly, competitor ÖVP, which came first in Styria in the 2019 regional elections, is now eight percentage points further behind the FPÖ after its collapse last Sunday than it was nationwide, where the Nehammer-ÖVP is 2.5 percent behind the Kickl-FPÖ.

Thirdly, but in truth firstly: Kunasek is not Kickl. Some even go so far as to dub him the "anti-Kickl". That would be too much of an honor (or rather dishonor within the Blue Party). But what is true: Unlike Kickl, Kunasek does not go after everything that does not submit 100% to his ideas and views with a (symbolically) drawn sword and a sharp tongue. Kunasek is seen as a friendly, chummy guy who can (almost) get along with everyone.

Both the ÖVP and the SPÖ could have done with him in the country. Both would have liked to cuddle up to him as a coalition partner. Kunasek had to make a decision - his choice fell on Christopher Drexler. This is the fifth federal state coalition between black and blue - but the first in the Green Mark under the opposite sign.

This much is clear: the pressure on Nehammer and the federal ÖVP to flirt with the blue rose will now increase massively.