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2017 Austrian legislative election

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Austrian legislative election, 2017
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All 183 seats in the National Council
92 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
 
Leader Christian Kern Sebastian Kurz Heinz-Christian Strache
Party SPÖ ÖVP FPÖ
Leader since 2016 2017 2005
Last election 52 seats, 26.82% 47 seats, 23.99% 40 seats, 20.51%
Current seats 51 51 38
  File:Pressefoto Ulrike Lunacek.jpg
Leader Ulrike Lunacek Matthias Strolz Peter Pilz
Party Greens NEOS PILZ
Leader since 2017 2012 2017
Last election 24 seats, 12.42% 9 seats; 4.96% Did not contest
Current seats 21 8 4
 
Leader Barbara Rosenkranz Roland Düringer Mirko Messner
Party FLÖ G!LT KPÖ+
Leader since 2017 2017 2012
Last election Did not contest Did not contest 0 seats, 1.03%
Current seats 4 0 0
Incumbent Chancellor

Christian Kern
SPÖ



Legislative elections will be held in Austria on 15 October 2017. The leader of the strongest party in a formed coalition, if there is any, usually becomes Chancellor.

Background

Conservative ÖVP party leader Reinhold Mitterlehner resigned on 10 May.[1] On 14 May Minister for Foreign Affairs and Integration Sebastian Kurz was unanimously elected new leader of the ÖVP by the federal party committee and called a snap election. Kurz announced the creation of an independent (but ÖVP-backed) list for the elections under the name "List Sebastian Kurz - The new People's Party", which would be open to non-ÖVP experts or otherwise interested people.[2]

On 18 May, Green Party leader Eva Glawischnig resigned from all her offices, citing family and health-related reasons but also increasing political pressure over the last months following the expulsion of the Young Greens from the party, as well as the coming challenging election campaign.[3] On 19 May, the Green Party committee unanimously elected current Tyrol state party head Ingrid Felipe as their new party leader. However, MEP Ulrike Lunacek was chosen as the party's candidate for the Chancellorship in the 2017 elections.[4]

On 14 June, the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) announced that they would drop a 30-year ban on coalitions with the far-right FPÖ under certain conditions. The party's "values compass" included a set of requirements that any coalition partner had to fulfil, including having a pro-European policy, a commitment to a minimum wage of €1,500 a month, gender equality and upholding human rights.[5]

On 27 June, Team Stronach announced that they would not contest the elections after founder Frank Stronach decided to stop all financial contributions to the party and stated his intention to leave politics.[6]

On 8 July, independent 2016 presidential candidate Irmgard Griss joined an electoral alliance with NEOS. Although not a member of the party and despite not participating in their primaries, she was given second place on the NEOS list after party leader Matthias Strolz. This measure was approved by a wide margin among delegates at a party meeting in Vienna.[7]

On 14 July, former FPÖ-leader in Salzburg Karl Schnell announced that he would run in the election with a list called "Freie Liste Österreich – Liste Dr. Karl Schnell (FLÖ)". Schnell already has the support of 3 MPs in parliament and won't need to submit 2600 signatures to be on the ballot.[8]

On 17 July, long-time Green Party MP and founding member Peter Pilz decided to leave the parliamentary club. On 25 June, a majority of Green Party delegates at a convention voted not to renew his spot on the party list for the election. Pilz has repeatedly stated interest for running his own list in the election. On 25 July, he presented his new list, Peter Pilz's List, during a press conference. Pilz already has the support of 4 MPs in parliament and won't need to submit 2600 signatures to be on the ballot.[9]

On 14 August, the SPÖ ended their co-operation with Israeli election adviser Tal Silberstein after he was arrested in Israel on suspicion of money-laundering and corruption. For several years, Silberstein worked as an opinion poll and campaign strategy consultant on behalf of the Social Democratic Party.[10]

On 14 August, popular Austrian comedian Roland Düringer announced that his satirical, anti-establishment list My Vote Counts! (G!LT) collected more than 2600 signatures and will appear on the ballot in every state.[11]

On 16 August, the KPÖ+ election alliance between the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) and the Young Greens [de] announced that they collected more than 2600 signatures and will appear on the ballot in every state. Following their expulsion from the Green Party in May, the Young Greens joined the alliance with the Communist Party.[12]

On 30 September, SPÖ general secretary and campaign manager Georg Niedermühlbichler resigned, following revelations of an internal SPÖ "dirt campaign" directed against ÖVP-leader Sebastian Kurz. The negative Facebook campaigning websites were initiated by former, controversial SPÖ adviser Tal Silberstein who got fired by the party a month before.[13] In the days following the revelations and a blame-game about the origins and responsibility in the affair, the ÖVP decided to sue the SPÖ and vice-versa.[14]

Electoral system

The 183 members of the National Council are elected by open list proportional representation in nine multi-member constituencies based on the states (with varying in size from 7 to 36 seats) and 39 sub-constituencies. Seats are allocated using the Hare method at the sub-constituency level and the D'Hondt at the federal level, with an electoral threshold of 4% or one seat in one of the 39 sub-constituencies. Voters are able to cast 3 preference votes for their preferred candidates on the federal, state and electoral district level. The thresholds for a candidate to move up the list are 7% of the candidate's party result on the federal level, 10% on the state level and 14% on the electoral district level.[15]

Qualified parties and lists

Official election ballot (sample)

Parties and lists represented in the National Council

Parties and lists not represented in the National Council, but who were able to secure ballot access[16]

On the ballot Austria-wide

On the ballot in individual states only

Election poster from the SPÖ

Parties and lists represented in the National Council, but who will not run for another term

Ballot qualification for parties and lists

In order to contest the election federally, a party (or list) either needs the signatures of 3 MPs in parliament or to collect 2600 valid signatures from eligible voters ahead of the election.

Parties can also contest the election in individual states only. For this, they have to collect the following numbers of signatures:

Puls 4 TV debate of the main candidates

Parties were able collect the signatures between July 25 and August 18. The state and federal election commissions validated the signatures and announced the qualified parties on August 24.[17]

Voter statistics

According to final numbers, 6.401.304 citizens older than 16 will be eligible to vote in the election. A total of 3.307.795 women and 3.093.509 men are eligible to vote. The numbers also include 60.749 Austrians who have their main residence abroad, but who registered in time to vote. Despite Vienna being the most populous state, Lower Austria has the most eligible voters (1.289.119), while Burgenland has the lowest amount (232.740). After a period of objection, the number of eligible voters was finalized and released on 15 September by the state and federal election commissions.[18]

Campaign

Issues being debated include immigration, integration, crime and security, tax cuts, job creation/reducing unemployment, pensions and care of the elderly.

Opinion polls

Main article: Opinion polling for the Austrian legislative election, 2017

References

  1. ^ "Austrian chancellor tries to keep coalition alive after ally quits" Reuters
  2. ^ "Austrian conservatives pick Foreign Minister Kurz as leader" Reuters
  3. ^ "Grünen-Chefin Glawischnig tritt zurück" ORF
  4. ^ "Grüne: Felipe wird Obfrau, Lunacek Spitzenkandidatin" ORF
  5. ^ "Austrian Social Democrats drop ban on coalitions with far right" Reuters
  6. ^ "Team Stronach gibt auf" Die Presse
  7. ^ Griss bei NEOS-Treffen: "Große Ehre für mich" Kurier
  8. ^ Nationalratswahl: 16 Listen sammeln Unterschriften Der Standard
  9. ^ Peter Pilz kandidiert mit eigener Liste – Stern, Cox, Bohrn Mena und Kolba als Mitstreiter Der Standard
  10. ^ Austrian Social Democrats drop adviser over money-laundering probe Politico.eu
  11. ^ Düringer: "G!LT" steht bundesweit am Stimmzettel Kurier
  12. ^ KPÖ Plus steht bundesweit auf den Stimmzetteln ORF
  13. ^ Negative campaign sites scandal shakes up Austrian election race The Guardian
  14. ^ Legal writs fly as Austria’s Facebook scandal deepens: Center-right party’s spokesman accused of bribing former Social Democrat adviser. Politico.eu
  15. ^ Vorzugsstimmenvergabe bei einer Nationalratswahl ("Preferential voting in a federal election") HELP.gv.at
  16. ^ Nationalratswahl 2017 - die kandidierenden Parteien BMI
  17. ^ "Nationalratswahl: Vorgezogener Termin am 15. Oktober 2017" Vienna.at
  18. ^ Endgültige Zahl der Wahlberechtigten BMI

External links

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