If the Freedom Party continues to win in the states, the pressure on ÖVP boss and Chancellor Karl Nehammer will increase. There are four more rounds of voting until the end of January 2025. In a week, Vorarlberg will elect a new state parliament.
The FPÖ can expect tailwinds from the National Council elections. It is unlikely that the influence in the other direction on coalition poker in Vienna will be very large in these elections.
But things could get awkward for coalition negotiators at the end of November at the Styrian elections.
The state elections pose a danger to the ÖVP
“If the FPÖ becomes the first in Styria, it could influence the history of the coalition in Vienna,” political advisor Thomas Hofer said in an interview with the “Krone”. Significant gains are predicted for the Freedom Party in both Vorarlberg and Styria.
Is black and blue coming to Vorarlberg?
In Vorarlberg, Governor Markus Wallner is fighting Christof Bitschi (FPÖ) for power. In the National Council elections, the FPÖ (27.1 percent) was only slightly behind the ÖVP (29.1 percent). It is expected that the ÖVP will come first with a small margin and will enter into a coalition with the Freedom Party. The People’s Party currently has more than 40 percent and is in a coalition with the Greens.
New momentum for FPÖ Burgenland
With the move to send Norbert Hofer into battle against Hans Peter Doskozil in Burgenland, the FPÖ is also making things exciting there. On the one hand, this is a danger to Governor Doskozil, who can defend an absolute majority, but it could also put pressure on ÖVP boss Karl Nehammer. “The state elections pose a latent danger to Nehammer’s plan” to keep the chancellery in second place through a candy coalition with SPÖ and NEOS.
The Styrians hope for long negotiations in Vienna
In Styria, both ÖVP state governor Christopher Drexler and his red coalition partner Anton Lang hope that government negotiations at the federal level will last as long as possible and that no coalition against the FPÖ will be formed before the vote. It is feared that this would play into the hands of the Freedom Party. Blue frontman Herbert Kickl has already started this story.
There will also be municipal elections in Lower Austria in January. “All four upcoming rounds of elections will bring even more emotionality to the negotiations,” Hofer said. If the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS do not reach an agreement quickly, the tide can still turn for Nehammer. Nervousness will certainly increase.
Doskozil must deliver at the end of January
From the FPÖ’s perspective, the government negotiations between the ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos are an additional impetus for the state elections. Party leader Herbert Kickl also made his statement in this direction after the one-on-one conversation with Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen. The losers would withdraw and ignore the will of the voters. He now attacks the state governors and sends Norbert Hofer to Burgenland. In doing so, he kills two birds with one stone: he gets rid of Hofer, who would have liked to become chairman of the National Council, and he puts a lot of pressure on Governor Doskozil.
For Hans Peter Doskozil there is a risk that he will be tipped out of the state governor’s seat by the ÖVP and FPÖ. But a dynamic towards red-blue can also arise. “There’s a lot of movement now, we’ve seen how volatile it is,” Hofer said. Van der Bellen’s strategy of betting on time also entails dangers.
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.
