National Council election

Egger is the ÖVP’s number 1, Polaschek is missing

Occupying the top positions: Kurt Egger and Corinna Scharzenberger(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Christian Jauschowetz, Parlamentsdirektion/Photo Simonis)

The Styrian ÖVP presented its state list for the National Council elections on September 29 after the state party executive meeting on Friday: with Wirtschaftsbund General Secretary Kurt Egger in first place, but without Education Minister Martin Polaschek. 

In second place is the Upper Styrian MP Corinna Scharzenberger, in third place the Southern Styrian MP and mayor of Lang, Joachim Schnabel. In fourth place is the former minister and Styrian state councillor Juliane Bogner-Strauß. She returned to the National Council in October 2023 in place of Karl Schmidhofer after leaving the Styrian state government, where she held the position of State Councillor for Health. Health spokesperson Josef Smolle, the former Rector of the Medical University of Graz, is in fifth place.

New faces also included
Places 6 and 7 on the list are occupied by two new faces in federal politics: businesswoman and club leader of the Graz People's Party, local councillor Daniela Gmeinbauer, is running ahead of innkeeper Stefan Hold, mayor of Waldbach-Mönichwald in Eastern Styria. State party leader and governor Christopher Drexler said on Friday afternoon that the party was relying on tried and tested forces and some new faces. The top positions on the list are characterized by experience.