Ludwig in the Zwickmühle: coalition talks and FPÖ in focus!

Ludwig in the Zwickmühle: coalition talks and FPÖ in focus!

On April 27, 2025, the Vienna election took place for the local council and state parliament, in which a total of 100 seats were filled. Mayor Michael Ludwig from the SPÖ commented on the result, which was seen as a "strong evidence of the Viennese population". Despite the positive assessment, Ludwig leaves the coalition question open and plans explorations with the Neos, Greens and the ÖVP to examine possible cooperation opportunities. One goal is to form a new city government before summer. It is particularly noteworthy that Ludwig excludes talks with the FPÖ as long as politicians convicted are active there.

The FPÖ has recorded strong gains in this choice, which prompted party leader Dominik Nepp to sharply criticize the exclusion of coalition talks. He interprets the result as a clear wish of the voters for change. The forecasts had previously given the prospect of doubling or even tripling the votes for the FPÖ, which has now come true. The surveys of the past few weeks have confirmed this trend, whereby the SPÖ came to around 38.4 percent and the FPÖ was able to increase significantly compared to 2020.

coalition negotiations in focus

Judith Pühringer, the top candidate of the Greens, was also grateful for the election result and expressed the desire for a coalition with the SPÖ. In doing so, she sees overlaps in the areas of living and education that are important for both parties. The NEOS presented themselves under Vice Mayor Bettina Emmerling with her best result in Vienna and also striving to continue working with the SPÖ.

Karl Mahrer, the top candidate of the ÖVP, was relaxed with regard to the losses of his own party. He described them as expected and announced a plan for the coming days. Even if the ÖVP could fall from 20.4 percent in 2020 to only 11.1 percent, Mahrer sees itself able to create the necessary realignment.

Occupation and counting

A total of 1,374,712 people were entitled to vote, including 264,776 non-Austrian EU citizens who were able to vote in the elections of the 23 district representatives at the same time. However, a third of the Viennese at the eligible age was not allowed to vote due to the lack of Austrian citizenship. Before the polling stations, the statistics included a turnout that will continue to solidify in the coming days.

The counting of the 284,956 (letter) election cards issued will mostly take place on the election evening, and the projections were published at 6.45 p.m. based on the counted explosive results. The SPÖ and Ludwig were able to successfully defend their first place, even if it was predicted slight losses.

With the election qualification, the next steps are now in Vienna politics, while the first reactions to the election results are already emerging. It remains to be seen which coalitions can ultimately be formed and whether the new balance of power will change the political landscape in Vienna.

For further details about the choice and the results, you can report the reports on Vienna , Kurier and Kleine Zeitung read.