🇦🇹 Austrian Elections & Politics 6.0 - Upper Austria election: 26 Sept. 2021

[Tender Branson]

In Steuerberg, the SPÖ challenger defeated the incumbent ÖVP mayor by 61-39.

https://www.ktn.gv.at/wahlen/bgmstichwahl2021/BS2021_21010.html

[Tender Branson]

Another pickup for the SPÖ from the ÖVP in Maria Saal:

https://www.ktn.gv.at/wahlen/bgmstichwahl2021/BS2021_20418.html

[Tender Branson]

FPÖ pickup from the SPÖ in St. Georgen am Längsee:

Johann Grilz defeated the incumbent SPÖ mayor Konrad Seunig by 58-42.

https://www.ktn.gv.at/wahlen/bgmstichwahl2021/BS2021_20523.html

[Tender Branson]

Independent pickup from SPÖ in Lavamünd.

Wolfgang Gallant (LWG) wins with 59-41 against Raphael Golez (SPÖ).

https://www.ktn.gv.at/wahlen/bgmstichwahl2021/BS2021_20909.html

Meanwhile, in Reißeck and Klein St. Paul, the 2 incumbent SPÖ mayors Kurt Felicetti and Gabriele Dörflinger got easily re-elected.

https://www.ktn.gv.at/wahlen/bgmstichwahl2021/BS2021_20644.html

https://www.ktn.gv.at/wahlen/bgmstichwahl2021/BS2021_20513.html

[Tender Branson]

SPÖ defends Sittersdorf, Eberndorf, Bleiburg and St. Paul (not MN, but in the district of Wolfsberg).

[Tender Branson]

Only 7/28 runoff results are left.

Among them, the 3 most important (Klagenfurt, Spittal an der Drau, Hermagor).

[Tender Branson]

Big surprise in Seeboden („lake floor“), a city of 10.000, in the more rural NW !

The incumbent ÖVP mayor was defeated by the SPÖ candidate 48-52, after being heavily favoured after round one:

https://www.ktn.gv.at/wahlen/bgmstichwahl2021/BS2021_20634.html

[Tender Branson]

Another major surprise in Obervellach !

Mayor Anita Gössnitzer (ÖVP) got 49.4% in the first round.

In the runoff today, she was defeated 43-57 by the SPÖ challenger Arnold Klammer.

https://www.ktn.gv.at/wahlen/bgmstichwahl2021/BS2021_20627.html

[Tender Branson]

Big surprise in the 3 largest cities with runoffs today, among them the capital Klagenfurt.

The SPÖ is defeated in all 3, loses all 3 mayors.

Klagenfurt: 45-55
Spittal/Drau: 49-51
Hermagor: 49-51

In Klagenfurt and Spittal, 2 ex-mayors from the Team Carinthia won.

In Hermagor, the ÖVP candidate won (in his 3rd attempt to unseat the SPÖ incumbent).

[Tender Branson]

The Klagenfurt result is without the postal votes, but Christian Scheider (TK) is so far ahead that mayor Maria-Luise Mathiaschitz (SPÖ) cannot be re-elected anymore ...

[Tender Branson]

Losing the capital Klagenfurt is a major disaster for the SPÖ, but they got at least another consolation prize in a city of 12.000:

Maria Knauder defended her mayor post in St. Andrä with 53% against FPÖ challenger Gerald Edler.

[Tender Branson]

The new (old) mayor of Klagenfurt, Christian Scheider, has a colourful party history:

#ex-FPÖ
#ex-BZÖ
#ex-Team Stronach
#then ex-FPÖ again (until last year)
#now Team Carinthia

He was also Jörg Haiderˋs tennis teacher.

[Tender Branson]

The Klagenfurt result is without the postal votes, but Christian Scheider (TK) is so far ahead that mayor Maria-Luise Mathiaschitz (SPÖ) cannot be re-elected anymore ...

Incl. all postal votes, Scheider has won 53.5%-46.5%

https://www.ktn.gv.at/wahlen/bgmstichwahl2021/BS2021_20101.html

[Tender Branson]

Here is the composition of the 132 mayors in Carinthia, after the runoffs yesterday:



Of the „others“, 4 are from the TK and 1 from the Slovene minority.

8 remain „independent“.

That’s the most mayors for the ÖVP ever.

[Tender Branson]

Mayors by party in Austria since yesterday (map from Georg Ebner):

[Tender Branson]

Carinthia mayors 2021 vs. 2015:

[Tender Branson]

Upper Austrian FPÖ leader Manfred Haimbuchner (42) has been admitted to the ICU because of a severe Covid infection:



https://www.nachrichten.at/politik/landespolitik/haimbuchner-intensiv;art383,3369535

Haimbuchner briefly attended a „welcome baby“ garage party a week ago of an FPÖ friend.

As a result, several other state FPÖlers also got infected (one of which was already vaccinated).

Upper Austria has state elections in the fall and Haimbuchner is a moderate for FPÖ standards.

[Tender Branson]

New "Heute" poll:



Austrians don't like the ÖVP-Green government, but also don't want the Grand Coalition back.

They also want the Sputnik vaccine and approve of the Green Pass.

They also think demonstrations should be forbidden or significantly limited during the time of the pandemic (FPÖ voters disapprove).

[Tender Branson]

Not a joke:

https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000125389347/fpoe-buergermeister-startet-petition-fuer-aufnahme-von-fluechtlingen

The FPÖ mayor of Hohenems launched a petition to admit refugees from the Greek camps.

"We cities and municipalities are ready to make our contribution to a humanitarian solution and to take in children and women from these refugee camps. And we urgently appeal to the Austrian federal government to reconsider its negative attitude and to accept refugees in Austria."

[Tender Branson]

New „Profil“ poll shows Austrians are very liberal on blessing gay marriages in church:

64% say the CC should bless gay marriages
21% are neutral and don’t care what the CC does
13% are opposed to gay marriage blessings in church

https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20210327_OTS0010/profil-umfrage-oesterreicher-fuer-homosexuellen-segnung

2 weeks ago, the Vatican said the CC can’t bless gay marriages:

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/15/977415222/illicit-for-catholic-church-to-bless-same-sex-marriages-vatican-says?t=1616838521472

The Innsbruck bishop for example strongly opposed the Vatican decree and issued an apology to gay couples wanting to marry and get a blessing in a Catholic Church:

https://religion.orf.at/stories/3205559/

[Tender Branson]

The influential Vienna mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) says that his party has to back Green President VdBs re-election (if he wants to run again next year).

That would rule out a SPÖ candidate against him.

https://orf.at/stories/3206945/

[Tender Branson]

A new Spectra/OÖN poll for the upcoming state elections in Upper Austria is out.

I will post the findings later.

[Tender Branson]

A new Spectra/OÖN poll for the upcoming state elections in Upper Austria is out.

I will post the findings later.

Here is the full poll:

[bigic]

Satire ?

Kickl criticizes Kurz for "EU bashing"

"Who should still trust this Chancellor who betrays his partners both at the national and EU level and stabs them in the back when it is for his own benefit ?" asks FPÖ club chairman Herbert Kickl in a press release in response to the statements of the ÖVP Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on the EU's vaccine procurement.

The FPÖ criticized Kurz for his "desperate EU bashing". This is "implausible. In November, the Chancellor applauded Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a video conference, who spoke of vaccine procurement as one of the great success stories of the EU," says Kickl, "just one day after a poll that was catastrophic for the Chancellor became known in which almost two thirds of all respondents distrust the vaccine from AstraZeneca, which is mainly bought by the government, Sebastian Kurz accidentally discovered the guilt of the EU."

Not a joke:

https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000125389347/fpoe-buergermeister-startet-petition-fuer-aufnahme-von-fluechtlingen

The FPÖ mayor of Hohenems launched a petition to admit refugees from the Greek camps.

"We cities and municipalities are ready to make our contribution to a humanitarian solution and to take in children and women from these refugee camps. And we urgently appeal to the Austrian federal government to reconsider its negative attitude and to accept refugees in Austria."

Is this the start of FPÖ's political transformation?

[Tender Branson]

Satire ?

Kickl criticizes Kurz for "EU bashing"

"Who should still trust this Chancellor who betrays his partners both at the national and EU level and stabs them in the back when it is for his own benefit ?" asks FPÖ club chairman Herbert Kickl in a press release in response to the statements of the ÖVP Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on the EU's vaccine procurement.

The FPÖ criticized Kurz for his "desperate EU bashing". This is "implausible. In November, the Chancellor applauded Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a video conference, who spoke of vaccine procurement as one of the great success stories of the EU," says Kickl, "just one day after a poll that was catastrophic for the Chancellor became known in which almost two thirds of all respondents distrust the vaccine from AstraZeneca, which is mainly bought by the government, Sebastian Kurz accidentally discovered the guilt of the EU."

Not a joke:

https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000125389347/fpoe-buergermeister-startet-petition-fuer-aufnahme-von-fluechtlingen

The FPÖ mayor of Hohenems launched a petition to admit refugees from the Greek camps.

"We cities and municipalities are ready to make our contribution to a humanitarian solution and to take in children and women from these refugee camps. And we urgently appeal to the Austrian federal government to reconsider its negative attitude and to accept refugees in Austria."

Is this the start of FPÖ's political transformation?

Political transformation into what ?

Just because 2 mayors (one of them arguably an important one) say refugees welcome, that’s not a trend within the FPÖ.