The heavy defeat in the state elections in Lower Austria cost the ÖVP this year alone 1.6 million euros in party and club funding. On the other hand, the FPÖ and the Greens will receive significantly more money in the future. The blue vote profit yields the party and the state parliament club another 1.8 million euros. The Greens are entitled to more than half a million euros more per year – mainly because they will receive club money again in their fourth mandate.
In total, the party and club funds in Lower Austria this year – despite high inflation – will only increase by about 400,000 euros to 25.3 million euros. The main reason for this is the significant drop in the number of voters. Because excluding “second homes”, the number of eligible voters has fallen by almost 100,000 – and that alone will dampen party and club funding by €1.8 million this year, as the APA calculated.
Defeat costs real money
For the ÖVP, Sunday’s heavy election defeat means that it is only entitled to party and club money of around 10.9 million euros this year. That is 1.6 million euros less than last year. The SPÖ loses about half a million euros and comes to almost 5.6 million euros. The FPÖ is now entitled to 5.6 million euros – 1.8 million euros more than last year.
The details are subject to change, as the calculation is based on the latest extrapolation results and not yet on the final election results, which will be available on Tuesday. If there are no more significant shifts, then the fourth mandate won back on Sunday will pay off in particular for the Greens: they have regained club status in the state parliament and are therefore entitled to more than 400,000 euros in club financing. Including party money, they would receive almost 1.9 million euros this year. The NEOS, on the other hand, just missed the fourth mandate. They have to get by without club money, but receive about 1.3 million euros in party money (plus 200,000 euros).
Small parties do not enter the state parliament
On the other hand, the small parties that did not reach the four percent limit are not entitled to party funding. MFG, KPÖ and Ziel only receive a one-off amount of just under seven euros per vote. In total, that should be just over 50,000 euros.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
