FPÖ celebrates historic election victory: What does that mean for Austria?

FPÖ celebrates historic election victory: What does that mean for Austria?

Austria is experiencing significant political upheaval after the turbulent National Council elections in 2024. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) took first place with a historic election victory of 28.8 percent, while Karl Nehammer's ÖVP fell to second place with a record loss of 26.3 percent. The SPÖ had to settle for third place, only slightly below its previous result, receiving 21.1 percent of the vote. This result caused a profound restructuring in the Austrian political system, such as the NOP reported.

The NEOS were able to position themselves as clear election winners with an increase of 9.2 percent and overtook the Greens (8.3 percent), who also had to accept a loss. The NEOS achieved its strongest results particularly in Vienna, Vorarlberg and Tyrol. In the inner city of Vienna they reached almost 19 percent and in several municipalities in Vorarlberg even over 20 percent, while they performed poorly in other districts. These regional fluctuations show an immense change in the NEOS voter base MyDistrict highlighted.

Political coalition negotiations

Led by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, the ÖVP was given the task of forming a government because neither the SPÖ nor the Greens wanted to form a coalition with FPÖ chairman Herbert Kickl. In the weeks that followed, intensive exploratory discussions took place between Karl Nehammer, SPÖ chairman Andreas Babler and NEOS boss Beate Meinl-Reisinger. The Austrian political landscape now faces the challenge of forming stable coalitions that reflect the new balance of power.