FPÖ top candidate Harald Vilimsky can be happy, he has achieved a historic result for the Freedom Party. Never before had the blue party managed to win the most votes in a federal election. However, the right-wingers did not expect the narrow margins.
Before the election Sunday, polls predicted that the FPÖ would consistently poll around 30 percent. It is now clear that these figures were not reliable. As things stand, the party is a wafer-thin margin ahead of the badly battered ÖVP, which has lost almost ten percentage points compared to 2019. Where the new blue voters came from is therefore not too much of a mystery.
ÖVP loses voters to the Freedom Party
Of the 1.3 million turquoise voters from 2019, around 221,000 opted for blue this time. The FPÖ was also able to score points with non-voters, from whom it gained around 100,000 votes, according to the voter flow analysis by ORF/FORESIGHT.
Wie hat Ihr Nachbar gewählt?
Die Ergebnisse nach Bundesland
If there is currently a weak point in the FPÖ's voter favorability, then it is the larger cities. The more inhabitants, the worse the Freedom Party performs. Of the cities with a population of over 100,000, the FPÖ only achieved a result above the national average in the smallest city. In Klagenfurt, they won 27.4 percent, which corresponds to an increase of almost nine percentage points.
The results in detail: You can see where the new strongholds are and how the vote was cast in Austria in the following graphic. You can switch between the provincial and municipal views.
Vienna - SPÖ with problems
With 18.6 percent, the FPÖ achieved a plus of 4.2 points in Vienna. While they are strong in individual outer districts, especially in Simmering with 31.2 percent, the Freedom Party has little to report within the Gürtel. The SPÖ lost half a percentage point and is still well ahead of all other parties. The NEOS gained three percent with 13.2 percent.
Upper Austria - Blue party overtakes senior partner
With a slightly above-average voter turnout of 57.3%, the Freedom Party became the strongest force in Upper Austria with 28.2%, ahead of its senior government partner ÖVP. A look at the municipal results shows a map largely split between blue and black. The ÖVP scored particularly well in the Mühlviertel, the FPÖ in the Inn and Hausruckviertel, in the Pyhrn region, but also in the central area. The SPÖ won the majority in the statutory towns of Linz and Steyr.
Styria - ÖVP with a bitter defeat
The ÖVP (25.5 percent) and SPÖ (20.6 percent) suffered heavy losses in the Grüne Mark. ÖVP state governor Christopher Drexler was at pains to emphasize that this was an EU election and not a state election. For the FPÖ (28%), the previous calamities - keyword FPÖ financial scandal and investigations against state leaders - have apparently not damaged them at all. It is clearly in first place.
Tyrol - Low voter turnout in the Alpine state
In Tyrol, the ÖVP (30 percent) may have lost a lot of votes in the EU elections, but it remained ahead of the FPÖ. The turnout in the European elections was disappointing: 249,790 eligible voters or 46.17 percent cast their vote according to preliminary results. This was even lower than the already low voter turnout of 53.24% in 2019 compared to the federal level and other federal states.
Vorarlberg - NEOS 82 votes ahead of the Greens
Although the ÖVP in Vorarlberg lost 8.8 percentage points in Sunday's EU election compared to 2019, the People's Party remained the strongest force with 26.8% of the vote. The FPÖ came second with 23% (2019: 14.8). The NEOS took third place with a lead of 82 votes ahead of the Greens (both 15.3%), while the SPÖ only managed fifth place despite an improvement to 14.4% as in 2019 (13.4%).
Salzburg - ÖVP loses and gains
In the federal state of Salzburg, the ÖVP suffered losses in the EU elections on Sunday, but still clearly retained first place with 29.7 percent. The FPÖ became the second strongest party with 24.6 percent, overtaking the SPÖ, which managed 20.6 percent on Sunday. With slight losses to 10.4 percent, the Greens defended fourth place ahead of the NEOS (8.2 percent).
Carinthia - the south of Austria deep blue
The 2024 EU election has once again turned Austria's southernmost province of Carinthia deep blue. 33.5 percent of all votes were cast for the FPÖ, making it by far the best federal state result for the Freedom Party. An increase of 11.92 percentage points also meant the largest percentage increase in votes for the FPÖ in Carinthia compared to other federal states.
Burgenland - SPÖ just ahead
The SPÖ Burgenland (29.9 percent) was delighted to come first in Burgenland on Sunday evening. A side blow to weakening comrades was not to be missed: This was also the best result for the SPÖ nationwide, according to state director Jasmin Puchwein. The ÖVP (28%) suffered heavy losses and landed in second place. However, the FPÖ (25.2 percent) is also gaining ground here with an increase of 7.6 percentage points.
Lower Austria - FPÖ continues to catch up
VP top candidate Reinhold Lopatka called the heavy losses "bitter", but also recognized a "good basis" and the "huge opportunity" to make up for it in the autumn. The losses are particularly evident in Lower Austria. The People's Party may have beaten the competition, but at the same time lost almost eleven percentage points. The FPÖ was already the party with the most votes, particularly in the east.
Overall, the Freedom Party is the clear winner of the election. "The FPÖ has proven that it can come first," commented "Krone" editor-in-chief Klaus Herrmann on the result. In contrast to the SPÖ, the ÖVP has shown that it is still in the race for chancellor. The votes of the Austrians illustrate this: The upcoming National Council election could hardly be more exciting!
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
