Red concern ahead of Lower Austria election

SPÖ state party leader: “Anyone who votes ÖVP is also voting for Kickl!”

Wherever the ÖVP and FPÖ achieve a majority together, they will form coalitions, SPÖ provincial party leader Sven Hergovich (photo) is convinced.

(Bild: APA/FLORIAN WIESER)

Lower Austria's SPÖ regional party leader Sven Hergovich has identified collusion between the ÖVP and FPÖ ahead of the municipal elections on 26 January. "Anyone who votes ÖVP is voting for (FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl)," warned the red state councillor, accusing the People's Party of dishonesty. The ÖVP sharply rejected the allegations.

"The ÖVP is warning against a red-blue coalition in order to conceal the fact that it has long since concluded a black-blue secret pact", said Hergovich at a press conference on Wednesday. Wherever the ÖVP and FPÖ achieve a majority together, they will form coalitions, he said with conviction.

Hergovich saw parallels to the current coalition negotiations in the federal government, to the talks after the state elections in Lower Austria in 2023 and after the 2015 municipal elections in Wiener Neustadt, where ÖVP leader Christian Stocker has been active in local politics for years. "That's exactly what people despise so much about politics: That something different is said beforehand than is done afterwards," said Hergovich. A vote for the Social Democrats on 26 January, on the other hand, is a vote "for honest politics".

SPÖ must cover "the whole breadth of society"
After some SPÖ representatives spoke out in favor of not refusing to enter into talks with the FPÖ, Hergovich merely pointed out that "in reality" a blue-black coalition is currently being formed. As a "lesson from the failed coalition negotiations in the federal government", he said: "I don't want to point the finger at other parties, but rather consciously take away a work assignment for us." The SPÖ must strive to cover the "entire breadth of society". The aim is to place "decisive content for the population" at the heart of politics.

ÖVP counters: Hergovich "back with new conspiracy theories"
 Hergovich is "back with new conspiracy theories", responded ÖVP regional managing director Matthias Zauner. "The claims about an alleged black-blue 'secret pact' are simply false," he stated. "Local decisions are made by those who know their municipalities best" - not the SPÖ regional party leader.