Austrian Parliamentary Election - Sept. 29

[Tender Branson]

The Young Greens have a new campaign ad for young female voters, called "I love my vagina!" - For a self-confident life."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZnHT9sekE0



And if that's not enough, they also issued a 36-page "Eva Magazine" - The "Green Girlie Magazine - also for Boys !":

http://issuu.com/die-gruenen-at/docs/eva-magazin

and they are launching a competition where you can win stuff:



https://www.gruene.at/gewinnen

[Leftbehind]

lol ffs.

[peterould]

A competition with prizes? In the UK that would constitute inducement to vote and would land you with a six month jail sentence!

[Tender Branson]

Tough and aggressive TV debates between Spindelegger & Stronach and Faymann & Bucher just ended.

More about it tomorrow incl. debate performance polls.

[Tender Branson]

A competition with prizes? In the UK that would constitute inducement to vote and would land you with a six month jail sentence!

Frank Stronach goes even a step further and awards 100.000€ for the winner of a competition titled: "What would you do if you became Chancellor ?"

The winner with the best idea gets the 100.000€ and the next best 100 ideas get 500€ each.

http://diepresse.com/home/politik/nrwahl2013/1443414/Gewinnspiel_Kauft-sich-Stronach-Waehlerstimmen

According to the law this is not "vote-buying", because not the Team Stronach campaign is responsible for the competition - but the Stronach Institute.

Stronach also says that he frequently did these competitions in Canada too.

[peterould]

I think that is going to seriously backfire. It just smacks of "Look at me and how much money I have". Didn't help Romney one bit in the US.

[Tender Branson]

Tough and aggressive TV debates between Spindelegger & Stronach and Faymann & Bucher just ended.

More about it tomorrow incl. debate performance polls.

Debate performance polls by IMAS for the Krone (telephone interviews of debate watchers, representative of the Austrian voters by current party leanings, sample = 300):

Who won the debate ?



Who was better on the following:











http://www.krone.at/Oesterreich/Spindelegger_vs._Stronach_im_Streit_um_Wirtschaft-Keine_Frank-Show-Story-374502













http://www.krone.at/Oesterreich/Kampflustiger_Faymann_siegt_gegen_Bucher-Emotionales_Duell-Story-374517

...

The 2 debates to watch:

http://orf.at/wahl13/video/6621259.html

http://orf.at/wahl13/video/6621267.html

[peterould]

The Young Greens have a new campaign ad for young female voters, called "I love my vagina!" - For a self-confident life."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZnHT9sekE0

"Sex for pleasure and not for making children".

I hate to break it to you ladies, but that's *exactly* what happens when you have sex.

[Tender Branson]

At least Austrian debates are lively and at times funny, heated and aggressive, compared with the dull German debates (where only the moderator Stefan Raab brought some life into the debates).



At one point Michael Spindelegger was almost shouting at Stronach, who stayed surprisingly calm this time and used charts to attack Spindelegger. I actually thought Stronach did a good job at painting the ÖVP as a worn-out system party that has been in government for the past 26 years and increased debt by 5-times during that time.

Also, Faymann was very aggressive against Bucher, saying that he doesn't have the guts to take up responsibility for the Hypo Alpe Adria bank failure in 2009 - that Jörg Haider (former BZÖ) was most responsible for (the state of Carinthia under Haider propped up the Hypo between 2006-09 with liabilities of 20 Bio. € and then Austria had to nationalize the bank in 2009, otherwise it would have gone bankrupt. The Hypo had massive losses in SE Europe where it expanded rapidely and then the economic crisis hit SE European customers).

Now it is estimated that the Hypo needs an additional 5-8 Bio. € of taxpayer money until 2017 until it is sold to investors and broken up.

Bucher argued that not the BZÖ under Haider was responsible for the mismanagement and nationalisation of the bank, but more the Bavarian Landesbank, which bought the Hypo in 2006-08 and therefore the Bavarians would actually be responsible for winding down the bank.

[Tender Branson]

Statements like these are what makes Stronach interesting and funny to watch:

"Wir müssen schaun wo da Hund begrabn is. I glab, des is mei Aufgab. Und I hob a große Schaufel !"

("We have to look where the dog is buried (where the problem is). I think that's my job. And I have a BIG shovel !")

In thick Styrian-Canadian English dialect.

[Viewfromthenorth]

At least Austrian debates are lively and at times funny, heated and aggressive, compared with the dull German debates (where only the moderator Stefan Raab brought some life into the debates).

We are in the situation that the land of the eternal grand coalition is having a more exciting election campaign than Germany.

[Tender Branson]

Got my absentee ballot today.

This is how an Austrian absentee ballot (and various info brochures for federal, state, district candidates' preference votes) looks like and how it is filled out correctly:



On the backside of the big white envelope that says "Wahlkarte", you have to sign. Also your personal data is on top of the backside (name, address, precinct number), but that gets covered by a small flippable piece of paper that is "glued" onto it with a big STOP sign on it - so that only the district election commission can open that seal. If anyone else opens this seal with the private info in it, then the absentee ballot is not counted.

In order to be counted, the brown envelope is put out and seperated from the big envelope to guarantee voter privacy. The pile of brown envelopes then gets mixed and counted by the 12 (or more) member election commission.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

What is the reason you're absentee voting Tender?

[minionofmidas]

The Young Greens have a new campaign ad for young female voters, called "I love my vagina!" - For a self-confident life."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZnHT9sekE0

"Sex for pleasure and not for making children".

I hate to break it to you ladies, but that's *exactly* what happens when you have sex.

Pleasure, you mean? Depends with whom.

[peterould]

The impression I'm getting from Stronach in the debates is that he's a nice chap and would be very pleasant to have round for dinner, but he's not really impressing many people.

[Tender Branson]

What is the reason you're absentee voting Tender?

My uncle is marrying on the election weekend and we are invited on Sunday for eating and chatting.

I could still easily vote in the morning in my regular precinct, but since the absentee ballot application via Internet takes only a few steps, I use the absentee ballot now.

When I started voting I used to go to the precinct polling station though.

It really doesn't make much difference I think.

[Tender Branson]

Frank Stronach supports the death penalty !

http://www.salzburg.com/nachrichten/spezial/nationalratswahl-2013/sn/artikel/todesstrafe-fuer-berufskiller-team-stronach-rudert-zurueck-73160

... for "professional killers" only though.

...

Frank Stronach said:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

"For crimes against humanity and threats to the state and its institutions by criminal organisations (mafia, terrorists for example), I have a certain sympathy for the death penalty.. But that is my personal opinion, coming from America. I have talked with leading members of my Team Stronach and they don't share this opinion and therefore this will not be included in the party program."

...

Austria abolished the death penalty after World War 2 and no party in Austria wants it re-introduced, not even the FPÖ.

Homicide rates are one of the lowest on the planet and mafia/terrorist crime that Stronach talked about does not exist here either.

So, his comments are creating quite the storm ...

[peterould]

Homicide rates are one of the lowest on the planet

And I think all of them are covered on my Stockinger DVD.... (best thing EVER done by ORF)

[Tender Branson]

For those who speak German ...

The satire news site "Die Tagespresse" has already released a parody about Stronach's death penalty comments:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Tender Branson]

Homicide rates are one of the lowest on the planet

And I think all of them are covered on my Stockinger DVD.... (best thing EVER done by ORF)

Yepp, Stockinger is legendary.

Also, be sure to read this:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[peterould]

SOKO Kitzbühel. Ausgezeichnet.

[Tender Branson]

Some news about NEOS:



They presented wealthy businessman and former LIF-politician Hans Peter Haselsteiner, who has already donated ca. 450.000€ so far to them, as a potential minister candidate, if NEOS manages to get into parliament and into the government. He also said that he will donate more money to them in the final weeks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Peter_Haselsteiner

http://derstandard.at/1378248120674/Haselsteiner-tritt-als-Minister-Kandidat-fuer-die-NEOS-an

[peterould]

I like the idea of a Black-Green-Pink coaliton, but the numbers aren't there. Even if Neos gets in (and the BZÖ doesn't), they would get c. 7 or 8 seats. ÖVP 47, Greens 30 - Around 85 max. It would need the other two partners to be doing better than at the moment.

[Tender Branson]

The "Grüne Andersrum", the LGBT-branch of the Greens, have released their poster campaign and 1 ad:

http://www.gruene-andersrum.at/oesterreich/artikel/lesen/90081

[Tender Branson]

ORF debates today:

20:15 Konfrontation: Faymann (SPÖ) - Stronach (TS)
21:05 Konfrontation: Spindelegger (ÖVP) - Bucher (BZÖ)