Exciting election themes

The parties scored points with these topics

(Bild: picturedesk.com/Christian Kreuziger / picturedesk.com)

Who actually voted for whom and why? Inflation was the top issue in the Burgendland election campaign, and the FPÖ in particular was able to capitalize on this. The SPÖ was able to rely on its core voters and Doskozil fans. There were also exciting differences according to age.

Burgenland was even more red at municipal level in the regional elections than in 2020, with only isolated turquoise patches remaining. The reasons for this are provided by the survey conducted by the Foresight research institute. According to the survey, 48% of respondents stated that the state has developed rather positively, with only a quarter seeing a negative development.

Results buck the trend
This result contradicts the trend of the super election year 2024: in none of the elections - neither in Styria, Vorarlberg, at federal level nor in the European elections - did the proportion of satisfied voters represent the largest group. The work of the provincial government to date was also the most important voting motive for SPÖ supporters.

Head of Foresight and election researcher Christoph Hofinger (left) analyzed the results together with Peter Filzmaier.

(Bild: Antal Imre)

Voting behavior by gender and age
Top candidate Hans Peter Doskozil was also able to score points with voters, with 16% voting for the party just because of him. People who said they were particularly affected by the high costs were more likely to vote for the FPÖ. Those to whom this does not apply increasingly voted for the ÖVP. A common motive of ÖVP and FPÖ voters was to prevent an SPÖ all-party government.

There were clear differences in voting behavior by age: the SPÖ and ÖVP performed best among the over-60s, while the FPÖ scored well among 16 to 59-year-olds. Men and women voted similarly.

Which coalition do people want?
But how should things continue after the election? Most Burgenlanders would like to see the SPÖ and FPÖ in the next provincial government. In the survey, 70 percent said this about the Social Democrats and 49 percent about the Freedom Party. There is also a clear trend among SPÖ voters: they are most likely to want a coalition with the FPÖ (29%), followed at some distance by cooperation with the ÖVP (20%) and the Greens (13%).