FPÖ clearly behind SPÖ

For the ÖVP, it’s not just about votes

The municipal elections in Lower Austria brought many winners, but also many losers.

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

In Lower Austria, 1,307,510 voters were called to vote in municipal elections on Sunday. Despite losses, the ÖVP remained clearly in first place and continues to provide the most mayors in its heartland. 

All election results from the municipalities in the interactive graphic:

The most important events of election day:

This is how Lower Austria voted on Sunday:
ÖVP: 46.97% (-5.86%)
SPÖ: 26.39% (-1.34%)
FPÖ: 13.05% (+7.26%)
Greens: 4.69% (-1.23%)
NEOS: 1.77 (+0.52%)
Others: 7.14% (+0.65%)
Voting took place in 568 of 573 municipalities
Voter turnout: 69.04 percent

• Despite losses, the ÖVP was ahead in more municipalities than in the record black election five years ago.

• A big loss for the SPÖ in Traiskirchen, Andreas Babler's home municipality. Nevertheless, the red absolute was defended.

• In Wiener Neustadt, the largest city in which elections were held on Sunday, the ÖVP was able to maintain first place despite losses.

• The FPÖ came first at municipal level in Lower Austria for the first time. For federal party leader Herbert Kickl, the "blue wave" continues to roll.

• In Mödling, the Greens missed out on a sensation, and in the spa town of Baden there was a political super-GAU.

The krone.at election ticker to read:

Picture series from election day:

Johanna Mikl-Leitner with husband Andreas: She wants to defend the reputation of the ÖVP Lower Austria as a mayoral party.

(Bild: Antal Imre/Imre Antal)

In Wiener Neustadt, FPÖ chairman Udo Landbauer cast his vote. He hopes that the "blue landslide" will continue.

(Bild: Seebacher Doris/Doris Seebacher)

Non-voters: SPÖ boss Sven Hergovich dropped by in Wilhelmsburg with state parliament president Eva Prischl.

(Bild: Molnar Attila/Attila Molnar)

Stadtvize wähl: For Helga Krismer, it was not just about the Greens as a whole, but also about the home game in Baden.

(Bild: Reinhard Judt/Kronen Zeitung)

Pink accents: Neos leader Indra Collini visited "her" polling station in Brunn am Gebirge yesterday with daughter Emma.

(Bild: Reinhard Judt/Kronen Zeitung)

The town hall of Traiskirchen

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Peter Reitzner, Mayor of Wilhelmsburg

(Bild: Molnar Attila)

Mayor Alexandra Weber regained the absolute for the SPÖ in Heidenreichstein

(Bild: zVg)

Gottfried Waldhäusl (FPÖ)

(Bild: Antal Imre/Imre Antal)

Liberation for ÖVP provincial governor Mikl-Leitner
Grafenwörth's ÖVP mayor Alfred Riedl came under fire for controversial land deals. He resigned as President of the Association of Municipalities, but ran again in the elections. And was able to maintain his absolute majority despite losses. A trend that generally dominated the election Sunday in the largest federal state in terms of area. Although the ÖVP lost, it remains by far the strongest party. And Johanna Mikl-Leitner remains the unchallenged governor for the time being.

What counts in municipal elections: People before party
1.3 million Lower Austrians had the chance to vote. In the end, the ÖVP was even ahead in more municipalities than in the previous election in 2020. Despite a record result, the FPÖ "only" came third behind the SPÖ.

Of course, municipal council elections are always personal elections and can only be compared with national elections to a limited extent, noted political professor and Krone analyst Peter Filzmaier. After all, the shirt is always closer than the skirt.

Big drop for the SPÖ in Babler's home district, but absolute lead held
The SPÖ also lost again. In Andreas Babler's home town of Traiskirchen, however, the absolute was maintained - despite a 12 percent loss.

Kickl sees "blue wave" rolling on
For FPÖ federal party leader Herbert Kickl, the gains are further proof of the "continuing blue wave", while for ÖVP leader Christian Stocker, the result - which resulted in more first places than in the historically best 2020 - is proof that his party "is the mayors' party."

Hardly any influence on the blue-black government
But how much impact will this have on the federal level, where the FPÖ and ÖVP are negotiating a coalition? The influence is less than one might think, says Filzmaier and is supported by Christoph Haselmayer, head of the Institute for Public Opinion Research and Data Analysis (IFDD). "People count, especially at municipal level." According to Filzmaier, the election winner, the FPÖ, must be careful not to be too euphoric towards the ÖVP. After all, they want to govern together in the federal government. However, there has recently been dissonance after Stocker told the blue party that they should move to the center. Kickl countered by calling for a bank tax.

Salzburg's ÖVP governor Wilfried Haslauer tried to calm things down on Sunday's ORF "Pressestunde". It was a case of "controlled agitation". One thing is certain: The negotiations will continue abruptly on Monday.