Almost in Brussels

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The man from Höchster already has one foot in Brussels, where he is to become the new EU Commissioner from November. Nevertheless, the face of the VP Finance Minister still in office adorns the National Council election posters.  

The parties are once again courting voters with more or less imaginative slogans. The National Council election posters with portraits of the top candidates have sprung up like mushrooms. In addition to Norbert Sieber (top candidate in the northern constituency), the ÖVP's posters also feature Magnus Brunner, who heads the Vorarlberg state list. But one thing is already clear: as the man from Höchst will succeed Johannes Hahn as EU Commissioner, he will not accept the National Council mandate under any circumstances.

So why is he on the election posters? The reason is easy to explain: when the lists had to be submitted, it was simply not yet clear who would be Austria's new EU Commissioner.

Sieber and Eder still have the best chances
The ÖVP should be pleased. With the thoroughly popular Finance Minister at the top of the national list, they are sure to pick up one or two votes. The chances of entering the National Council will not change for Brunner's black colleagues. While Sieber is likely to defend his mandate in the north, Heike Eder (second place on the state list) should replace Brunner in the federal parliament. If he were to become a minister again, this would also be the case due to his resignation.