After the EU elections

What the leaders of the Vorarlberg parties say

The Vorarlberg candidates did quite well in the EU elections. As expected, however, none of them won a mandate.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/Winfried Rothermel, zVg)

The EU election is over. The Black Party suffered the biggest losses in Vorarlberg, but still remained number 1. How does ÖVP party leader Markus Wallner comment on the result and how satisfied are the other party leaders?  

Markus Wallner, leader of the ÖVP: "The ÖVP was unable to match its exceptionally good result from five years ago, when the EU elections took place under completely different conditions. This was to be expected, as was a percentage improvement for the FPÖ. The FPÖ succeeded in appealing to and mobilizing voters critical of the EU, especially as EU elections are often known to have the character of protest elections. In Vorarlberg, however, the People's Party remains clearly in first place. The National Council elections to be held this year and even more so the Vorarlberg state parliament elections are completely different elections and Vorarlberg voters in particular have always known and continue to know exactly how to distinguish between these different electoral levels."

Markus Wallner's People's Party remains number 1 in Vorarlberg.(Bild: VLK/Bernd Hofmeister)

Christof Bitschi, regional party leader of the FPÖ: "We Freedom Party are the strongest party in a nationwide election for the first time. I would like to thank all our voters for this. I would also like to say a big thank you to our team of candidates, led by Joachim Fritz, for their tremendous efforts in our state. We are also in first place in many municipalities in Vorarlberg and are now within striking distance of the ÖVP overall. Now it's full steam ahead for the national and provincial elections, with the aim of creating positive change for our province as leaders."

Mario Leiter, regional party leader of the SPÖ: "We would have expected a stronger federal result, but we have stabilized. As the SPÖ Vorarlberg, we are satisfied with the gains we made in the European elections in Vorarlberg. We are consistently following the Vorarlberg path and have focused on the right issues with our lead candidate Philipp Kreinbucher-Tyler. It is a pleasing gain that shows how important social democratic politics are for Vorarlberg and provides a positive boost for the regional elections." 

Eva Hammer and Daniel Zadra (Greens): "The result is respectable. However, we see this as a clear mandate for us to mobilize more people for climate protection and cohesion in the upcoming elections. For us, the shift to the right means doing everything we can to ensure that Vorarlberg continues on its stable path of cohesion. It is now more important than ever to send a strong signal for our environment, our climate and our togetherness. In Europe, the next few years will decide whether we take climate protection seriously and ensure that our children and grandchildren will have a good life on this planet. This European election was therefore a fateful election for our future. We would therefore like to thank all voters who placed their trust in us and voted for climate protection and cohesion."

Claudia Gamon (NEOS): "NEOS are the only pro-European winners of this European election. With a clear commitment to Europe, we have achieved our election goal and secured the second mandate nationwide. This is the first time we have cracked the 10 percent mark in an Austria-wide election. This result is a powerful start to the summer for us and clearly shows the direction in which we NEOS are developing in the federal state. I am convinced that we will continue this great success in Vorarlberg in the national and regional elections."