Confidence in federal politicians continues to wane – but there are also some exceptions, as shown by the current APA/OGM confidence index. Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) managed to make significant gains, and NEOS boss Beate Meinl-Reisinger and FPÖ boss Herbert Kickl did the same to a lesser extent. Despite this increase, the latter is deep in the red.
Despite the minus, the most reliable is still Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen. The balance has decreased by five points compared to November. His statement that he did not want to order Kickl to form a government in an election victory of the FPÖ probably contributed to this, explains OGM boss Wolfgang Bachmayer. Currently, 59 percent of 1,000 respondents (online, representatively selected) said they trusted Van der Bellen, 37 percent said they didn’t – meaning the balance is plus 22.
Expert about Rauch: “Alemannic-calm, but determined”
This is still by far the best value. Second is Minister of Justice Alma Zadic (Greens) with plus 11, followed by Minister of Labor Wolfgang Kocher (ÖVP) with 10 and President of the National Council Doris Bures with 7. Rauch made it to the positive area with confidence plus 14 (balance plus 3 ). Bachmayer sees several reasons for this: that Rauch has declared the end of the pandemic, that he defies the medical association and also his “Alemannic-calm but determined nature”. A third member of the Green government, Andrea Mayer, Secretary of State for Culture, just got the plus 1 in the February survey.
According to Bachmayer, Kickl has risen by 5 points for the second time in a row because the electorate of the FPÖ is growing. However, it is still deep – with a balance of -48 – in the red. However, he was able to give the red lantern to the chairman of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP) in November – who now lost a little (2 points) to minus 61.
After Kickl, those closest to the bottom of the confidence pyramid are ÖVP politicians, all of whom have slipped further: club president August Wöginger (-3 to -37), interior minister Gerhard Karner (-9 to -36) , Secretary of Education Martin Polaschek (-6 to -36) and Secretary of Defense Klaudia Tanner (-6 to -35). State Secretary for Youth Affairs Claudia Plakolm has also dropped significantly (-8 to -26) from the ÖVP government team.
Confidence in Rendi-Wagner greater than in SPÖ
But SPÖ leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner has also lost confidence: her balance fell by eight points (to -21) compared to November. The reasons for this “are obvious,” Bachmayer stated – but pointed out that 35 percent of polled voters trust Rendi-Wagner. And that is significantly more than the SPÖ is currently getting in the polls.
It is comparable to Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP): he lost six points to now -17. But 38 percent trust him, which is much more than the ÖVP poll values. There are quite a few votes of confidence from other parties, especially from the green camp, according to Bachmayer. Conversely, the same applies to Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler, who is trusted by 39 percent – four times as much as the Greens achieve in the polls. Kogler remained much the same as in November (-15) – ranking 15th out of 30 politicians surveyed, just ahead of Nehammer and Rendi-Wagner.
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.
