Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce

Imagine it’s an election and hardly anyone goes to the polls

The voting booths were not very busy during the Chamber of Commerce elections in Lower Austria.

(Bild: Rojsek-Wiedergut Uta)

Are local entrepreneurs no longer interested in who represents their interests? You could get that impression if you take the turnout in the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce elections as a yardstick. However, the ÖVP and SPÖ do not seem to be particularly interested.

The ÖVP got off lightly in the Chamber of Commerce elections. Although the black business association lost 7.3 percent, it won more than 70 percent of the 1259 seats with just under 64 percent of the vote. Party leader Johanna Mikl-Leitner sees this as "clear conditions for assertive representation". However, the ÖVP is discreetly keeping quiet about the dramatic drop in voter turnout. Just like the red business association, which is celebrating itself as "the only driving force" in the representation of interests despite falling to third place.

Serious faces instead of jubilation, although the business association clearly remained number 1: ÖVP leader Johanna Mikl-Leitner with top candidate Wolfgang Ecker.

(Bild: Imre Antal)

Still number one five years ago
The other parliamentary groups are, of course, already concerned about the downright collapse in voter turnout. While Lower Austria was still the leader among all federal states in the chamber elections five years ago with 41 percent, this year only just under 24 percent of entrepreneurs put their cross on the ballot paper.

The Unos are toasting their excellent election result, but see the low voter turnout as a downer.

(Bild: Imre Antal)

Thumbs up for the Freiheitliche Wirtschaft, but chairman Reinhard Langthaler (center) is concerned about the low voter turnout.

(Bild: Imre Antal)

 Coercion or mistrust?
"We urgently need to take measures here to ensure that the Chamber of Commerce election does not degenerate into a mere election of functionaries," diagnoses Reinhard Langthaler, Chairman of the Freiheitliche Wirtschaft, who came second with a plus of 7.5 percent. The Unos also see the low turnout as a "drop of bitterness" for the strongest pink result to date in the chamber elections. They see the reason for this in compulsory membership. For August Lechner, spokesperson for the Green Economy, which laments the loss of just under 1.8 percent in Lower Austria, the absence of the majority of entrepreneurs from the ballot box reflects "the mistrust in political institutions".