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

[mileslunn]

It's looking like unless the polls are wrong or something dramatic happens the OVP will come in first.  Which seems more likely, an OVP-FPO government or a continuation of the Grand Coalition with OVP and SPO switching roles between junior and senior?

[mileslunn]

Would OVP and SPO possibly form a grand coalition to keep the FPO out?  Also I would think FPO in the lead would make the government unstable and be bad for the economy.  As a junior partner by contrast that will probably damage them much like in 2016 when they plunged.  Another possibility is could FPO agree to yield the chancellor to the OVP even if they got more votes.  In Denmark, Danish People's Party got more votes than Venestre yet Venestre formed the government.  Nonetheless I figure the far right winning in one European country would likely destroy their credibility elsewhere although I had hoped Donald Trump's win (who is like the FPO as opposed to OVP) would be enough to sink them as I at least thought Trump was pretty reviled in Europe so surprised they didn't try to tie them more to him but maybe he isn't as hated in Austria as some of the more liberal coastal European countries as it seems the land locked areas tend to be the most conservative parts at least on immigration and social issues.

[mileslunn]

Here's a chart of how long previous government formations took (in days):

I am guessing this will be one of the shorter ones, an OVP-FPO coalition seems pretty straightforward so would be surprised if it takes over 50 days.

[mileslunn]

Sebastian Kurz will become the World's youngest head-of-state (31) once he's sworn in as Chancellor in December or so.

The next youngest are the leader of San Marino, followed by Kim-Jong Un in North Korea and Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand.

Where would Justin Trudeau rank as he is often seen as being quite youthful, but now with Kurz, Ardern, and Macron he doesn't seem so young.  Mind you he also looks ten years younger than his age.