Austrian Elections & Politics 3.0 - Parliamentary Election: Oct. 15

[Tender Branson]

Today is Sebastian Kurz's 31st birthday and Chancellor Kern has congratulated him by taping a short Facebook video at home yesterday night. Other people are sleeping, but the Chancellor creates a video for his political opponent ...

The "Krone" writes: "Is the election campaign getting human again after all ?"

[Tender Branson]

Here's the full set of ÖVP campaign posters which are launched next week (notice the lack of the ÖVP-logo, with just "Kurz 2017" on them, something that helped Erwin Pröll win landslides in Lower Austrian state elections):

Main theme: "It is time."

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[Tender Branson]

Tonight is the 4th ORF "summer interview" during primetime, with Sebastian Kurz.

Will be interesting to see if he's already talking about his campaign platform, which should be out on Friday.

[Bumaye]

Here's the full set of ÖVP campaign posters which are launched next week (notice the lack of the ÖVP-logo, with just "Kurz 2017" on them, something that helped Erwin Pröll win landslides in Lower Austrian state elections):

Main theme: "It is time."

 
 
In two of the posters it's time to change the system and creating a new one, in five of the other posters it's about doing something "again" or to defend values. I've no idea how people can't look through this cheap populism.

[Mike88]

Interesting. Kurz 2017 logo is very similar to the PSD/CDS 2015 coalition logo:

[Tender Branson]

Here's the full set of ÖVP campaign posters which are launched next week (notice the lack of the ÖVP-logo, with just "Kurz 2017" on them, something that helped Erwin Pröll win landslides in Lower Austrian state elections):

Main theme: "It is time."

 
 
In two of the posters it's time to change the system and creating a new one, in five of the other posters it's about doing something "again" or to defend values. I've no idea how people can't look through this cheap populism.

I think the posters are very well done. On the one hand, they portray conservative issues and on the other hand they appeal to potential FPÖ-voters.

[Tender Branson]

Sebastian Kurz's summer interview on the ORF was watched by a record 1.03 million people, or 1/6 eligible voters.

Strache's summer interview had only 800.000 viewers, so this is another sign that Kurz is heading for the win.

---

Meanwhile, the "frontrunner" of the satire-party GILT, Günther Lassi, has come under attack because among the reading list he posted on his personal website there was also a link to "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion", an anti-semitic book about Jewish world domination.

Lassi, who was only announced as "frontrunner" yesterday via draw of lots - distanced himself from the idea that he is anti-semitic. In fact, I checked his vast reading list yesterday before the website went offline and it seems this book was only a mistake.



Self-reported professions of Lassi before he retired: taxi driver, celtic wizard, bard, expert in esotericism and geomancy.

https://kurier.at/politik/inland/dueringer-distanziert-sich-von-antisemitischen-inhalten-seines-spitzenkandidaten/283.226.558

[Tender Branson]

Sebastian Kurz was interviewed yesterday for 45 minutes during primetime, by a very "nasty" (but rightfully so) Tarek Leitner, who tried to pin Kurz down and tried to get in-depth policies from Kurz.

But Kurz was very relaxed like usual and said that the media needs to wait a few more days, when he'll begin rolling out his 250-page election platform, starting with the first of 3 main chapters, called "A new fairness".

The topic "new fairness" will include the massive tax cut plans for workers and lowering the tax revenues as a percentage of GDP from the current 43% to below 40% (exactly the same thing that the FPÖ wants). Kurz also said that he wants a constitutional debt and deficit brake (like the FPÖ) and debt to go down to 60% or less after his first term in office. Making healthcare more efficient will also be part of this topic.

The other 2 topics will be "Strenghtening Austria as a business location", which includes weeding out bureaucracy and red-tape for businesses and better education. The final topic which will be rolled out towards the end of the campaign will be "security, immigration and integration" in Europe and Austria.

When asked by Leitner why Kurz won't roll out the whole 250-page platform at once, Kurz replied: "Well, I know the media and the media would simply pick and choose one topic and focus on this for weeks. I want to talk about every aspect of the platform and explain it to the people myself."

[mvd10]

The posters do somewhat remind me of VVD campaign posters. But the VVD posters basically were policy proposals without any picture added, they did it to stand out because all other posters prominently featured the leaders of other parties (and a lot of people still weren't sure whether Rutte was PM material, it's pretty hilarious how the most successful VVD leader of all time was on track to become the least successful after 4 years as leader before things dramatically changed in 2010). But the messages in Kurz' posters are rather empty (the messages on the VVD posters were simplistic, but atleast they were concrete proposals). And you'd think all of the ÖVP campaign posters would prominently feature Kurz because their entire campaign seems to be based on Kurz.

[Tender Branson]

Of the 10 parties running Austria-wide on Oct. 15, we now know all frontrunners.

Isabella Heydarfadai (a lawyer and consumer protection advocate) will be the lead candidate for the "Whites".





The Whites surprisingly made it onto the ballot as 10th party with the signatures of 3 outgoing Team Stronach MPs, but only one of them decided to run again for parliament on their list.

The Whites are a fringe pro-direct democracy, open government, transparency initiative.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

The Whites surprisingly made it onto the ballot as 10th party with the signatures of 3 outgoing Team Stronach MPs, but only one of them decided to run again for parliament on their list.

The Whites are a fringe pro-direct democracy, open government, transparency initiative.

The Whites? Sounds like an Austrian Trump party.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

The Whites surprisingly made it onto the ballot as 10th party with the signatures of 3 outgoing Team Stronach MPs, but only one of them decided to run again for parliament on their list.

The Whites are a fringe pro-direct democracy, open government, transparency initiative.

The Whites? Sounds like an Austrian Trump party.

The Whites are dirty monarchists! Vote for Bolsheviks Social Democrats instead!

[Tender Branson]

The Whites surprisingly made it onto the ballot as 10th party with the signatures of 3 outgoing Team Stronach MPs, but only one of them decided to run again for parliament on their list.

The Whites are a fringe pro-direct democracy, open government, transparency initiative.

The Whites? Sounds like an Austrian Trump party.

The Whites are dirty monarchists! Vote for Bolsheviks Social Democrats instead!

No, the Whites are not monarchists. Read what I posted above ...

There's an actual monarchist party in Austria though, who want to return to that form of government. But it's even more of a fringe group than the Whites ...

Polls have also shown that less than 5% of Austrians want the monarchy back.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

The Whites surprisingly made it onto the ballot as 10th party with the signatures of 3 outgoing Team Stronach MPs, but only one of them decided to run again for parliament on their list.

The Whites are a fringe pro-direct democracy, open government, transparency initiative.

The Whites? Sounds like an Austrian Trump party.

The Whites are dirty monarchists! Vote for Bolsheviks Social Democrats instead!

No, the Whites are not monarchists. Read what I posted above ...

There's an actual monarchist party in Austria though, who want to return to that form of government. But it's even more of a fringe group than the Whites ...

Polls have also shown that less than 5% of Austrians want the monarchy back.

you missed it, I made a funny Russian Revolution joke!

[Tender Branson]

The FPÖ adapted Hillary Clinton's "3 AM" ad, but in a semi-funny way:

https://www.facebook.com/HCStrache/videos/vb.74865038590/10155271537063591/?type=3&theater

In a new trailer for "The Huber's", a family is asleep. Suddenly the wife wakes up because she hears something downstairs. The husband (who's wearing a teal-coloured pyjama like Kurz), doesn't give a damn and wants to keep on sleeping. But the wife tells him to look downstairs and indeed ... there's a burglar in the house. The actual ad is out tomorrow.

Combined with their previous semi-funny bike video and KFC-Strache, their campaign this year is quite bizarre.

[Tender Branson]

Sebastian Kurz started his Aufbruch ! ("On the move !") campaign tour today in one of the most reliable FPÖ-voting areas of the country, the Innviertel, in Upper Austria.

... and there was a HUGE crowd for a Wednesday afternoon (5.000 people) - in the city Ried im Innkreis, which has 10.000 people.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

The posters do somewhat remind me of VVD campaign posters. But the VVD posters basically were policy proposals without any picture added, they did it to stand out because all other posters prominently featured the leaders of other parties (and a lot of people still weren't sure whether Rutte was PM material, it's pretty hilarious how the most successful VVD leader of all time was on track to become the least successful after 4 years as leader before things dramatically changed in 2010). But the messages in Kurz' posters are rather empty (the messages on the VVD posters were simplistic, but atleast they were concrete proposals). And you'd think all of the ÖVP campaign posters would prominently feature Kurz because their entire campaign seems to be based on Kurz.

It makes sense: after all, I can totally see the campaign paranoid about overegging their frontman's popularity and suffering a backlash.

I think we've discussed before on atlas that German-speakers have a habit of making corny posters. Not sure about "It is time", as a slogan either.

[palandio]

Not too relevant, but still hilarious:

Roland Düringer's G!LT list managed to get on the ballot in all states. The stated aim is to be an art project that represents people who would not vote otherwise, in parliament. The order of candidates on the list was decided by random and the first place went to 70-year-old Günther Lassi. Now some people looked into who Lassi is, and he is some weird esoterics guy who posts on his website under the pseudonym "Merlin". Among the many texts linked on his website there were among others the Protocols of the Elders of Zion including a statement that the claims that they are forged was debunked already in the 30s... The Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstands had already asked him two years ago to take the link from his website. After yesterday's public uproar, Günther 'Merlin' Lassi said that he is strictly against fascism and that among the many texts linked on his website there are several that are critical of fascism. (Imho being against 'fascism' or what you perceive to be fascism can be perfectly combined with being an anti-semitic conspiracy theorist, but what do I know...) Other links on the website were for example to Freeman Austria, a tin-foil-hat anti-state lunatic. After some continued outrage, today Lassi announced that he would not take his seat if elected. (The lists cannot be changed anymore.)

http://derstandard.at/2000063327008/Guenther-Lassi-Merlin-der-nur-bedingt-gueltige-Zufallskandidat

Quite scary that as soon as some "alternative" list comes up, you run into all these freaks. (Düringer himself seems to be questionable to a certain degree, too.)

[Tender Branson]

Not too relevant, but still hilarious:

Roland Düringer's G!LT list managed to get on the ballot in all states. The stated aim is to be an art project that represents people who would not vote otherwise, in parliament. The order of candidates on the list was decided by random and the first place went to 70-year-old Günther Lassi. Now some people looked into who Lassi is, and he is some weird esoterics guy who posts on his website under the pseudonym "Merlin". Among the many texts linked on his website there were among others the Protocols of the Elders of Zion including a statement that the claims that they are forged was debunked already in the 30s... The Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstands had already asked him two years ago to take the link from his website. After yesterday's public uproar, Günther 'Merlin' Lassi said that he is strictly against fascism and that among the many texts linked on his website there are several that are critical of fascism. (Imho being against 'fascism' or what you perceive to be fascism can be perfectly combined with being an anti-semitic conspiracy theorist, but what do I know...) Other links on the website were for example to Freeman Austria, a tin-foil-hat anti-state lunatic. After some continued outrage, today Lassi announced that he would not take his seat if elected. (The lists cannot be changed anymore.)

http://derstandard.at/2000063327008/Guenther-Lassi-Merlin-der-nur-bedingt-gueltige-Zufallskandidat

Quite scary that as soon as some "alternative" list comes up, you run into all these freaks. (Düringer himself seems to be questionable to a certain degree, too.)

Yeah, small new parties that attract previous non-voters (also as candidates) are pretty likely to have weird and eccentric candidates on their list.

Still, being weird and eccentric doesn't necessarily mean that you are anti-semitic.

[Tender Branson]

Speaking of momentum:

* Kern campaigned yesterday in Innsbruck, capital of Tyrol with 135.000 people. His speech was watched by an audience of 500 people.

* At the same time, Kurz was campaigning in the deep-blue Innviertel in the city of Ried im Innkreis with 10.000 people. His speech was attended by a crowd of 5.000 people.

[Tender Branson]

The Greens put up a huge poster on a Vienna building today:

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[rob in cal]

   I think that Greens poster is the whole point of why the Kurz OVP is doing so well, he is keeping OVP voters plus attracting some FPO voters by coming closer to the FPO on the migration issue, and all if it done in a nice shiny youthful package.

[Tender Branson]

The Interior Ministry has released the official federal lists of all candidates running in the election:

http://www.bmi.gv.at/cms/BMI_wahlen/nationalrat/2017/Bewerber_Bundeswahl.aspx

Which means ballots and envelopes can now be printed. On Monday, September 18, authorities will start sending them to postal voters and Austrians abroad.

[Tender Branson]

A new Research Affairs/Ö24 poll (Ö24 polls are a bit of a joke though, especially the new one because it only asked 400 people - online between August 30 and 31):



http://www.oe24.at/oesterreich/politik/nr-wahl2017/Kurz-ist-die-Nr-1-Rot-Blau-holen-auf/297400441

[Tender Branson]

Results of the 3 month turnout poll on top:

* 62% of you think turnout will be higher than in 2013, when it was 75%
* 17% say it will be about the same
* 21% say it will be lower

The new poll will ask you how you'd vote in the coming election.