2010 Austrian Presidential Election

[Tender Branson]

Heinz Fischer (SPÖ)



Incumbent president, elected in 2004 with roughly 52.4% of the vote. Fischer was a member of the Austrian parliament (Nationalrat) from 1971 and served as one of its presiding officers from 1990 till 2004. From 1983 to 1987 he was Minister for Science in a coalition government headed by Fred Sinowatz. Apart from being a politician, Fischer also pursued an academic career, and became a Professor of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck in 1993. Fischer is a self-avowed agnostic. Fischer has been married since 1968. The couple has two grown-up children. Fischer enjoys mountaineering and has been president of the Austrian Friends of Nature for many years.

Erwin Pröll (ÖVP)



Since 22 October 1992 he has been governor (Landeshauptmann) of Lower Austria. He is the longest serving governor in Austria. The transfer of the regional administration from Vienna to Sankt Pölten took place during his administration. Pröll is seen as a supporter of a Grand Coalition between the ÖVP and Social Democratic Party (SPÖ). In the year 2000 he was still a supporter of the "black-blue" coalition (ÖVP with the Freedom Party (FPÖ)), but two years later argued against such an arrangement. Pröll also has a good relationship with Viennese mayor Michael Häupl (SPÖ). Pröll is married with four children. He is the uncle of Josef Pröll, Austrian Vice Chancellor and Minister of Finance.

Barbara Rosenkranz (FPÖ)



FPÖ-leader of Lower Austria, State-Minister for Construction and Animal Rights. Married Horst Rosenkranz, former member of the outlawed Nazi-party NPD and candidate for the 1990 movement "No to the Foreigner-Flood", with whom she has 10 kids. Strongly conservative in family and foreigner issues and was the only member of Austrian Parliament in 2005 to vote against the "European Consitution".

Alexander Van der Bellen (Greens)



Alexander Van der Bellen (born 18 January 1944) is an Austrian economist and politician, chairman of the parliamentary club and federal spokesperson of the Austrian Green Party from 1997 to 2008.

Van der Bellen was born in Vienna and spent his childhood in Tyrol. In 1962, he graduated from the Akademisches Gymnasium in Innsbruck. He studied economics at the University of Innsbruck and received a doctorate in 1970.

In 1976 he was appointed as professor extraordinarius at the University of Innsbruck; he later went to Vienna, where he taught from 1977 to 1980 as professor ordinarius for economics at the University of Vienna. Subsequently, he took over the chair for economics there. From 1990 to 1994 he was dean of the faculty for social sciences and economics.

A former member of the Austrian Social Democratic Party, Van der Bellen became Member of the National Council of Austria (Nationalrat) for the Austrian Green Party in 1994. Since 1997 he was their federal spokesperson, and since 1999 chairman of the parliamentary club of the Greens in the National Council. He resigned after the September 2008 election, when the Greens lost votes for the first time in a decade.

In all popularity rankings, Van der Bellen has always scored much higher than the political party he represents; Austrians approve of his considerate conduct even during heated debates, his honesty, and last but not least his vast knowledge in the field of economics.

Van der Bellen is married and has two adult sons. He is an avid fan of Scrooge McDuck comics and a self-confessed smoker.

Claudia Haider (BZÖ)



Jörg Haider's wife. BZÖ-leader Josef Bucher wants her to run, also Carinthia BZÖ governor Gerhard Dörfler says she'd be an amazing candidate.

[Tender Branson]

For me, VdB in the first round and Fischer in the run-off.

[Hans-im-Glück]

I would vote for Fischer in the first and the second round. Van der Bellen is a good man, but he have no chance and i don't want to waste my vote.

[pogo stick]

Which one is the least liberal?

[Hash]

Which one is the least liberal?

Go away, please.

[Tender Branson]

Which one is the least liberal?

Rosenkranz. But I guess you are Jewish, so you probably shouldn't vote for her ...

Maybe Pröll for you.

[Хahar 🤔]

I would vote for Fischer in the first and the second round. Van der Bellen is a good man, but he have no chance and i don't want to waste my vote.

It's two-round voting. There's an exceedingly small chance of vote-wasting.

Probably Fischer for both; I see no problem with his performance so far. Didn't the Greens say that they would support him?

[Tender Branson]

I would vote for Fischer in the first and the second round. Van der Bellen is a good man, but he have no chance and i don't want to waste my vote.

It's two-round voting. There's an exceedingly small chance of vote-wasting.

Probably Fischer for both; I see no problem with his performance so far. Didn't the Greens say that they would support him?

They said they'll support him in the run-off. But they are not sure yet if they'll run a candidate on their own. Currently Fischer can't rely on the support of SPÖ and Greens, because their combined strength is only 38-40% right now. Not enough for an outright majority in the first round. Today's polls suggest that Fischer already has the backing of more than 90% of SPÖ voters in the runnoff, but Pröll only has 2/3 of ÖVP-members. That will easily change to 90% too once the campaign heats up. It would be weird to see a President with 80% ratings lose, but the SPÖ is clearly in bad shape this year ...