Austrian Elections & Politics 2.0 (Presidential runoff re-vote: 4 Dec. 2016)

[Tender Branson]

I hope President Van der Bellen, following his triumphal reelection, will stage a coup and replace these fascist traitors with proper judges.

That's impossible, because:

On the judges, I read on the VfGH page that the government can name 8 of the 14 judges, the parliament 3 and the Bundesrat (the other parliamentary chamber in Austria) another 3.

But nobody is "replacing" a judge because of their ruling, that would be crazy ... In fact, the website says that a judge's term is over once he reaches age 70 (by December 31 after their birthday). If the outgoing judge was named by the parliament for example, the next nominee will also be nominated by the parliament and so on ...

[Antonio the Sixth]

Did you actually take my post seriously? Wow.

But seriously though, these people are self-important morons.

[Tender Branson]

Did you actually take my post seriously? Wow.

Nah, not really. I just wanted to point out that even if he wanted it, he couldn't do it.

The powers of the Austrian President are always overhyped by everyone (especially the very left-wing media and blogs) who think a President Hofer would turn Austria into a fascist hellhole if elected. In fact, a President Hofer would have to bow to pressure and play by the rules ...

[Antonio the Sixth]

Did you actually take my post seriously? Wow.

Nah, not really. I just wanted to point out that even if he wanted it, he couldn't do it.

The powers of the Austrian President are always overhyped by everyone (especially the very left-wing media and blogs) who think a President Hofer would turn Austria into a fascist hellhole if elected. In fact, a President Hofer would have to bow to pressure and play by the rules ...

What part of "coup" don't you understand?

[rob in cal]

   Tender, I read an article about where the Austrian politicians are vacationing around Austria and Europe and was wondering if there is one part of Austria that is especially favored by the Austrian political elite for summer vacations?  From the article it looked like there wasn't currently, but was wondering if there has been one historically?

[Tender Branson]

   Tender, I read an article about where the Austrian politicians are vacationing around Austria and Europe and was wondering if there is one part of Austria that is especially favored by the Austrian political elite for summer vacations?  From the article it looked like there wasn't currently, but was wondering if there has been one historically?

They go wherever they want to. There's no historical vacation spot or something. Most go to the western states for hiking, Strache always vacations in Ibiza (Spain), so does Chancellor Kern this year.

[jimrtex]

Today, the Constitutional Court released the full written 170-page ruling of the FPÖ-challenge.

The English summary, if anyone is interested:

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Is "assistant electoral officer" plural in the German version?

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Does a postal ballot have two envelopes:

(1) The mailing envelope, which has only the address of the election authority;
(2) A secrecy envelope which is signed on the outside? So that the signature is verified in a process equivalent to a person presenting themselves at the poll, and then is opened and the ballot placed in some sort of container for separate counting?

I don't understand why the auxiliaries should be able to discard those ballots as "obvious", unless that means they can simply have a stack of envelopes without signatures that electoral officers can confirm.

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Is this a complete list of districts in Austria, or is this a list of challenged districts, and in 14 of the 20 the irregularity was confirmed?

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If this were an election for parliament, how would the vote for the resident of Linz be counted if he personally voted in Salzburg? Would it be transported back to Linz for counting?

[Tender Branson]

Is "assistant electoral officer" plural in the German version?

It's both singular and plural. The German word is "Beisitzer".

Does a postal ballot have two envelopes:

(1) The mailing envelope, which has only the address of the election authority;
(2) A secrecy envelope which is signed on the outside? So that the signature is verified in a process equivalent to a person presenting themselves at the poll, and then is opened and the ballot placed in some sort of container for separate counting?

Yes.

Is this a complete list of districts in Austria, or is this a list of challenged districts, and in 14 of the 20 the irregularity was confirmed?

There are 117 election districts in Austria. 20 of them were contested and investigated by the Court. 14 were charged with failures, while 6 did nothing wrong and everything was done according to election law.

If this were an election for parliament, how would the vote for the resident of Linz be counted if he personally voted in Salzburg? Would it be transported back to Linz for counting?

I guess so, for seat calculations.

[jimrtex]

Is this a complete list of districts in Austria, or is this a list of challenged districts, and in 14 of the 20 the irregularity was confirmed?

There are 117 election districts in Austria. 20 of them were contested and investigated by the Court. 14 were charged with failures, while 6 did nothing wrong and everything was done according to election law.

Is there likely to be any personal repercussions in the 14 districts?

[Tender Branson]

Is this a complete list of districts in Austria, or is this a list of challenged districts, and in 14 of the 20 the irregularity was confirmed?

There are 117 election districts in Austria. 20 of them were contested and investigated by the Court. 14 were charged with failures, while 6 did nothing wrong and everything was done according to election law.

Is there likely to be any personal repercussions in the 14 districts?

Yes, but mixed ones.

The state of Carinthia has launched investigations against election officials in the state's districts which were found "guilty" by the Court.

The same with Styria.

Vorarlberg on the other hand has said it is against a "witch hunt" directed against election officials.

[Tender Branson]

The new Profil magazine poll shows the FPÖ rising to the highest level ever:

35% FPÖ
24% SPÖ
20% ÖVP
14% Greens
  6% NEOS
  1% Others

Chancellor vote:

34% Christian Kern (SPÖ-incumbent)
18% Heinz-Christian Strache (FPÖ)
10% Reinhold Mitterlehner (ÖVP)
  5% Eva Glawischnig (Greens)
  3% Matthias Strolz (NEOS)
30% None of them/Others

http://www.profil.at/oesterreich/umfrage-kern-kanzlerfrage-spoe-7176638

[Tender Branson]

Both FPÖ and Greens have said they will vote with the SPÖVP government in the fall on a comprehensive election reform package, after the Constitutional Court ruled the Presidential runoff invalid.

It is essential that this will be passed in parliament this year or early next year, so that the reforms can already apply for the next federal elections (training lessons for election officials etc.)

http://www.wienerzeitung.at/nachrichten/oesterreich/politik/831789_Das-Wahlrecht-wird-geaendert.html

http://derstandard.at/2000041150588/FPOe-und-Gruene-befuerworten-Waehlerregister

[Omega21]

The new Profil magazine poll shows the FPÖ rising to the highest level ever:

35% FPÖ
24% SPÖ
20% ÖVP
14% Greens
  6% NEOS
  1% Others

Chancellor vote:

34% Christian Kern (SPÖ-incumbent)
18% Heinz-Christian Strache (FPÖ)
10% Reinhold Mitterlehner (ÖVP)
  5% Eva Glawischnig (Greens)
  3% Matthias Strolz (NEOS)
30% None of them/Others

http://www.profil.at/oesterreich/umfrage-kern-kanzlerfrage-spoe-7176638

Nothing unusual. For example the attack in Nice could have been avoided because the attacker was already charged with multiple crimes like Violence, threats and Theft. He got 6 months for attacking a Motorist with a pallet.

If he had been deported for his crimes then all those people wouldn't have died.

[MaxQue]

The new Profil magazine poll shows the FPÖ rising to the highest level ever:

35% FPÖ
24% SPÖ
20% ÖVP
14% Greens
  6% NEOS
  1% Others

Chancellor vote:

34% Christian Kern (SPÖ-incumbent)
18% Heinz-Christian Strache (FPÖ)
10% Reinhold Mitterlehner (ÖVP)
  5% Eva Glawischnig (Greens)
  3% Matthias Strolz (NEOS)
30% None of them/Others

http://www.profil.at/oesterreich/umfrage-kern-kanzlerfrage-spoe-7176638

Nothing unusual. For example the attack in Nice could have been avoided because the attacker was already charged with multiple crimes like Violence, threats and Theft. He got 6 months for attacking a Motorist with a pallet.

If he had been deported for his crimes then all those people wouldn't have died.

He was a French citizen, couldn't have been deported.

[Tender Branson]

The new Profil magazine poll shows the FPÖ rising to the highest level ever:

35% FPÖ
24% SPÖ
20% ÖVP
14% Greens
 6% NEOS
 1% Others

Chancellor vote:

34% Christian Kern (SPÖ-incumbent)
18% Heinz-Christian Strache (FPÖ)
10% Reinhold Mitterlehner (ÖVP)
 5% Eva Glawischnig (Greens)
 3% Matthias Strolz (NEOS)
30% None of them/Others

http://www.profil.at/oesterreich/umfrage-kern-kanzlerfrage-spoe-7176638

Nothing unusual. For example the attack in Nice could have been avoided because the attacker was already charged with multiple crimes like Violence, threats and Theft. He got 6 months for attacking a Motorist with a pallet.

If he had been deported for his crimes then all those people wouldn't have died.

He was a French citizen, couldn't have been deported.

Nope. He was a Tunisian citizen, with a French sort of Green Card.

Anyway guys, I don't really get what this has to do with the poll I posted ...

[Sozialliberal]

You know what really bugs me, Omega21? You're ranting about crimes committed by immigrants all the time, and yet you didn't say a word when an immigrant robbed a supermarket and killed a police officer in Vienna two weeks ago (RIP). I wonder if it's because the culprit was Bosnian and you're from Bosnia and Herzegovina yourself.

[Omega21]

You know what really bugs me, Omega21? You're ranting about crimes committed by immigrants all the time, and yet you didn't say a word when an immigrant robbed a supermarket and killed a police officer in Vienna two weeks ago (RIP). I wonder if it's because the culprit was Bosnian and you're from Bosnia and Herzegovina yourself.

This man deserves a death sentance, or to rot in prison for the rest of his life, don't know which is worse.

He takes a sh**t on people like me who are going to Austria to study or to make a honest living for themselves.

Austria gave him everything, and there is absolutely nothing anyone can say in his defense.

And no he wasn't Bosnian, Bosnian is not a nationality it's just a citizenship. He was a Serb, just like me, and he isn't the only Serb who needs to be removed from the country because of his crimes.

Don't you get it? I don't give a damn about race/religion/nationality, I just want Austria to be a place where these kind of people are brought to justice before they kill a Young Man who was serving his country.
Of course I am talking about the ones that were convicted for serious crimes before and not deported as they should have been.

Any immigrant should try to better than even the native population, as this country has accepted you and you owe everything to it and it's people who built it.

So if I am wrong in any of this, please correct me.

[Tender Branson]

Quite a low-key campaign for president going on right now, with both candidates on vacation.

Much of the campaigning right now is done via Social Media and some newspaper interviews:

Examples:

* Van der Bellen calls the FPÖ inconsistent and dangerous with their calls for an Auxit right after the Brexit vote and then Hofer saying he's not in favour of an Auxit

* Hofer posted on Facebook that he got himself a new puppy (dog)

* Van der Bellen repeated that he'd never swear in the FPÖ into the next government or Strache/Hofer as Chancellor

* Hofer said he's "concerned" about the Turks in Vienna (yesterday night, some 5.000 Turks held a spontaneous rally in Vienna in support of Erdogan), saying their integration into Austrian society has "failed". (Vienna's FPÖ-leader went a step further and called on them to leave the country).

And so on ...

[Omega21]

Quite a low-key campaign for president going on right now, with both candidates on vacation.

Much of the campaigning right now is done via Social Media and some newspaper interviews:

Examples:

* Van der Bellen calls the FPÖ inconsistent and dangerous with their calls for an Auxit right after the Brexit vote and then Hofer saying he's not in favour of an Auxit

* Hofer posted on Facebook that he got himself a new puppy (dog)

* Van der Bellen repeated that he'd never swear in the FPÖ into the next government or Strache/Hofer as Chancellor

* Hofer said he's "concerned" about the Turks in Vienna (yesterday night, some 5.000 Turks held a spontaneous rally in Vienna in support of Erdogan), saying their integration into Austrian society has "failed". (Vienna's FPÖ-leader went a step further and called on them to leave the country).

And so on ...

What's you opinion on the Turks that took part in the rally?

[Antonio the Sixth]

So immigrants are not allowed to have opinions on the political situation in their home country?

[Omega21]

So immigrants are not allowed to have opinions on the political situation in their home country?

Well seeing as some were using the Grey Wolf greetings (it is a Turkish neo fascist movement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Wolves_(organization)) and that some were screaming Allahu Akber made this rally not very pleasant, if you don't support fascists that is.

Of course many people were just peacefully showing their support, and there is nothing wrong with that.

The problem was with those who were not doing that, you can read more about it here as well as other Austrian Newspapers.

http://www.krone.at/Oesterreich/Das_Herz_schlaegt_dort._wo_die_Heimat_ist-Erdogan-Fans_in_Wien-Story-520366

[Antonio the Sixth]

Isn't being fascist the ultimate proof that they are a perfect fit for Austria's culture?

[Omega21]

Isn't being fascist the ultimate proof that they are a perfect fit for Austria's culture?

Hahahahh, maybe 70 years ago..

That is the reason why people are too soft on a number of issues, because saying "We should deport this refugee (or anyone with another citizenship who migrated to Austria) because he raped a little girl" is considered Racist and it will get you called a "Nazi".

People really don't like this as even after 70 years people are afraid of being called this, so they immediately shut up and drop the discussion..

For me, anyone who thinks deporting a Rapist or Murderer is something that "nazis"do, then they are out of their mind..

My Grandmother doesn't remember her parents because of Nazis, but I can't blame someone 75 years  later for any of those crimes and neither should any German/Austrian feel guilty.

[MaxQue]

Isn't being fascist the ultimate proof that they are a perfect fit for Austria's culture?

Hahahahh, maybe 70 years ago..

That is the reason why people are too soft on a number of issues, because saying "We should deport this refugee (or anyone with another citizenship who migrated to Austria) because he raped a little girl" is considered Racist and it will get you called a "Nazi".

Most of us are okay with deporting criminals, the issue is than their home countries don't want to take them back, usually.

[Omega21]

Isn't being fascist the ultimate proof that they are a perfect fit for Austria's culture?

Hahahahh, maybe 70 years ago..

That is the reason why people are too soft on a number of issues, because saying "We should deport this refugee (or anyone with another citizenship who migrated to Austria) because he raped a little girl" is considered Racist and it will get you called a "Nazi".

Most of us are okay with deporting criminals, the issue is than their home countries don't want to take them back, usually.

Is there something African/Middle Eastern dictators wouldn't do for money?