Austrian Elections & Politics - Version 1.0

[Tender Branson]

Elections coming up in 2014:

* 9 March: Salzburg mayoral and town/city council elections
* 25 May: EU Parliament election
* 21 September: Vorarlberg state election

Welcome to the new thread !



Here's the old:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=165607.0

[bmw1503]

Arrived here through a Google search and now I'm completely addicted to this forum.  Just spent quite a few hours reading through the entire Austrian election thread...wow, what a phenomenal job you guys have done.  This election was absolutely fascinating to me, particularly since I will be starting at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna next August.

A question about the NEOS party - are they more of a right-liberal (super free market, anti-statist/libertarian...I'm thinking Denmark's Liberal Alliance or the German FDP) or social/left-liberal (slightly pro-market, soft environmental, more in keeping with -to use the Danish case again- Radikale Venstre or similar like the UK Lib Dems)?

Again, thanks for the excellent work on here!

[peterould]

Just adding a line so I can subscribe.

Carry on...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

'Grunë' is a most excellent error that I am surprisingly pleased with

[Leftbehind]

A question about the NEOS party - are they more of a right-liberal (super free market, anti-statist/libertarian...I'm thinking Denmark's Liberal Alliance or the German FDP) or social/left-liberal (slightly pro-market, soft environmental, more in keeping with -to use the Danish case again- Radikale Venstre or similar like the UK Lib Dems)?

Again, thanks for the excellent work on here!

Well I'd question today's Lib Dems being used as an example for the latter, but NEOS are definitely the former.

[ERvND]

Since the old thread is closed, I'll use this one:

Kudos to Tender for the most extensive and profound election coverage I have ever encountered. Thanks to him, we are all experts on Austrian politics now. I'm already looking forward to the next elections.

[DC Al Fine]

Since the old thread is closed, I'll use this one:

Kudos to Tender for the most extensive and profound election coverage I have ever encountered. Thanks to him, we are all experts on Austrian politics now. I'm already looking forward to the next elections.

Kudos to Tender for making me so knowledgeable about Austrian politics that I alienated my friends by trying to explain the election

[bmw1503]

A question about the NEOS party - are they more of a right-liberal (super free market, anti-statist/libertarian...I'm thinking Denmark's Liberal Alliance or the German FDP) or social/left-liberal (slightly pro-market, soft environmental, more in keeping with -to use the Danish case again- Radikale Venstre or similar like the UK Lib Dems)?

Again, thanks for the excellent work on here!

Well I'd question today's Lib Dems being used as an example for the latter, but NEOS are definitely the former.

Yeah, that's a fair point...I guess a better example might have been the Netherlands' D66 or even the GreenLeft there post-Halsema

[Tender Branson]

Arrived here through a Google search and now I'm completely addicted to this forum.  Just spent quite a few hours reading through the entire Austrian election thread...wow, what a phenomenal job you guys have done.  This election was absolutely fascinating to me, particularly since I will be starting at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna next August.

A question about the NEOS party - are they more of a right-liberal (super free market, anti-statist/libertarian...I'm thinking Denmark's Liberal Alliance or the German FDP) or social/left-liberal (slightly pro-market, soft environmental, more in keeping with -to use the Danish case again- Radikale Venstre or similar like the UK Lib Dems)?

Again, thanks for the excellent work on here!

Their party platform so far is a mix of both: pro-business policies that favor start-ups, small-business owners, lowering taxes for them etc.

But they have also a focus on social/left-liberal issues, such as school/education reforms, sustainable pro-environment economic policy, transperancy, strongly-pro-EU (favoring a EU citizenship etc.)

Basically a FDP with a Green paint ...

Their parliamentary work in the coming years will show where they are positioned really, more to the right or to the left ...

You can read their program here:

http://neos.eu/_download/downloads/plaene-fuer-ein-neues-oesterreich-11.pdf

http://neos.eu/plaene

[Tender Branson]

bmw, welcome to the Forum btw !

Where do you come from ?

Hope you enjoy your stay in Vienna and your studies at the Diplomatic Academy.

[Tender Branson]

A few updates from today:

* President Heinz Fischer today officially told Chancellor Werner Faymann (SPÖ) to form a new government. Which means the coalition talk business will now become serious. Side fact: Today is also President Fischer's 75th birthday.



The whole government-formation order from President Fischer reads like this:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://diepresse.com/home/politik/innenpolitik/1462614/Fischer-erteilt-Faymann-Auftrag-zur-Regierungsbildung

* FPÖ's Strache said the only 3 possibilies he sees right now are: A) a new SPÖVP government B) a SPÖ-FPÖ government, but only if the SPÖ moves away from its FPÖ-exclusion policy C) new elections being called.



http://diepresse.com/home/politik/innenpolitik/1462654/Strache-will-Achse-der-Opposition-aufstellen

* The Team Stronach is falling further apart and one crisis meeting is following the other: After launching a Coup d'état from above by sacking 3 state TS leaders in the last week, Frank Stronach is now already in Canada again (he can't stay in Austria for more than 70 days a year, because then he'd have to pay ALL his taxes here).

So, his "girl-for-everything" and designated TS parliamentary leader - Kathrin Nachbaur - is leading the meetings. The Carinthia TS is about to split from the federal party in a CDU/CSU-like model if Nachbaur cannot convince the pissed-off Carinthians to stay on board.



Also, the Salzburg and Lower Austrian state TS people (the Carinthians too) are severely pissed-off with the way Frank Stronach is doing business: He wants money back from them, 10 Mio. € in the next 10 years to be exact.

Also, the Vorarlberg TS is about to implode. Frank Stronach has basically fired the whole leadership in the state and they said they won't run in the 2014 Vorarlberg state election ...

http://derstandard.at/1379293538404/Team-Stronach-Vorarlberg-vor-Aufloesung

[bmw1503]

bmw, welcome to the Forum btw !

Where do you come from ?

Hope you enjoy your stay in Vienna and your studies at the Diplomatic Academy.

I'm an American (from Pittsburgh, PA) but I'm currently doing my Master's in London at SOAS.  I spent a year at the Amerlinggymnasium in Vienna in between high/secondary school and university and have been looking for an excuse to go back to Austria since!

Looking at Austria, what has been really interesting coming from an American perspective is how much farther right-leaning young people, particularly young men, are compared to the population as a whole.  This is obviously in quite some contrast to the United States, where young people are much much more left leaning than the average voter.  There also seems to be a huge gender gap among young voters in Austria, which, while present in the US too, is much less pronounced. It would be fascinating to understand what the roots of this are...

The NEOS situation I also find interesting because if the party turns out to identify more with the right than left (which seems quite plausible given its leader is formerly of OVP and they seem to have the most free-market perspective of the parliamentary parties) it would seem to offer OVP the chance to stay relevant in inner cities, through OVP-NEOS coalitions (in the SORA exit poll something like 45% or so of university educated voters backed those parties (with probably enough in the future from Stronach and BZO voters to hit 50% I'd imagine)

[Zanas]

* The Team Stronach is falling further apart and one crisis meeting is following the other: After launching a Coup d'état from above by sacking 3 state TS leaders in the last week, Frank Stronach is now already in Canada again (he can't stay in Austria for more than 70 days a year, because then he'd have to pay ALL his taxes here).

So, his "girl-for-everything" and designated TS parliamentary leader - Kathrin Nachbaur - is leading the meetings. The Carinthia TS is about to split from the federal party in a CDU/CSU-like model if Nachbaur cannot convince the pissed-off Carinthians to stay on board.



Also, the Salzburg and Lower Austrian state TS people (the Carinthians too) are severely pissed-off with the way Frank Stronach is doing business: He wants money back from them, 10 Mio. € in the next 10 years to be exact.

Also, the Vorarlberg TS is about to implode. Frank Stronach has basically fired the whole leadership in the state and they said they won't run in the 2014 Vorarlberg state election ...

http://derstandard.at/1379293538404/Team-Stronach-Vorarlberg-vor-Aufloesung

This is making my day way better after the glooming Nova Scotia election and the general situation...

[minionofmidas]

Basically a FDP with a Green paint ...

If there's one party NEOS reminds me of, it's the Canadian Greens.

[Franzl]

So the ÖVP does seem interested in seeing whether they have any chance of not playing "zweite Geige" yet again.

Just a bargaining chip or is black-blue + some TS support a credible alternative?

[Tender Branson]

Even the main German TV channel ARD is now reporting about NEOS:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/neos100.html

[Tender Branson]

So the ÖVP does seem interested in seeing whether they have any chance of not playing "zweite Geige" yet again.

Just a bargaining chip or is black-blue + some TS support a credible alternative?

With the situation that the TS is currently in it would be suicidal for the ÖVP to enter a coalition with the FPÖ and TS. As if the FPÖ wouldn't be enough ...

In the next years, there are still decisions coming up on the EU level that could involve constitutional changes (2/3 majority), for example if another Greek bailout is needed. The FPÖ would not accept it. The ÖVP would look stupid, because SPÖ and Greens would simply let the ÖVP "auflaufen" and refuse to support them. The coalition would be dead, Austria would look stupid, new elections would be called, the ÖVP would lose.

So, better a new SPÖVP hate-love coalition ...

[Zanas]

What are the odds of SPÖVPGreens right now ? Who is in favor and who's against ?

[minionofmidas]

What are the odds of SPÖVPGreens right now ? Who is in favor and who's against ?

Why would the Greens join that?

[Zanas]

What are the odds of SPÖVPGreens right now ? Who is in favor and who's against ?

Why would the Greens join that?

People do dumb things, that's why. All the time, pretty much. No but seriously, I know it's not necessarily the most probable one federally, but it exists at a few state levels, so why not ?

[Tender Branson]

What are the odds of SPÖVPGreens right now ? Who is in favor and who's against ?

Why would the Greens join that?

People do dumb things, that's why. All the time, pretty much. No but seriously, I know it's not necessarily the most probable one federally, but it exists at a few state levels, so why not ?

As Lewis said, the Greens are not needed for a regular coalition.

But they could work out a deal or two for Europe-related laws, where the coalition needs the Greens and/or NEOS for a 2/3 majority.

[Tender Branson]

Here's a Reuters article about government formation and TS troubles:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/09/us-austria-government-idUSBRE9980EN20131009

And here's a New Statesman article (a London-based paper) about the FPÖ being Nazis or not:

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/10/are-austrian-fpo-party-really-nazis

[Tender Branson]

SHOCK !

The mayor of my home city Zell am See, Hermann Kaufmann, has been found dead today in his house. The cause is likely either a heart attack or a stroke.

Hermann Kaufmann (ÖVP), was elected mayor in 2009, in what came as a big blow to the city-SPÖ, which held the mayoral post all the time before him. Kaufmann comes from a staunch SPÖ family, but ran for the ÖVP. Kaufmann was also a really folksy guy, always showing up at festivities in the city.

He was only 56 years old and leaves behind 2 sons.



http://www.salzburg.com/nachrichten/salzburg/politik/sn/artikel/zeller-buergermeister-kaufmann-ueberraschend-verstorben-77899

RIP.

[Tender Branson]

5 years ago today, Jörg Haider died in a car-crash:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://www.brecorder.com/articles-a-letters/187:articles/1239788:haiders-fatal-crash-still-echoes-in-austrian-politics/?date=2013-10-10

[Tender Branson]

SPÖ & ÖVP have decided to start coalition talks next week.

The 2 party leadership boards will meet on Monday to formalize it.

If the talks are quick, a new government is likely by early December - if not, then by Christmas or New Year.