National Council election

Graz results: SPÖ narrowly in the lead

Polling station in Graz-Andritz on Sunday(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

The Styrian capital is once again voting very differently to the rest of the country: SPÖ is very narrowly ahead of ÖVP and FPÖ with 21.7 percent (preliminary, without postal votes). Voter turnout was 73 percent. What this could mean.

Green Party leader Werner Kogler was "confident" in the morning in Graz-Andritz. A few hours later, it was clear that at least in his home town, the Green Party had not fallen quite as far as in the rest of Austria. In 2019, 27% of voters in Graz voted for Kogler and Co, making the Greens the second strongest party. In 2024, it was enough for 15.5 percent (excluding postal votes), and even 20 percent in the student district of Geidorf.

Despite its financial scandal at municipal level, the FPÖ was able to collect 19.8% of the vote, but "only" came third after the SPÖ and ÖVP.

And the ÖVP, which emerged victorious from the 2019 National Council elections but suffered a historic defeat in the municipal elections three years ago? Chancellor Karl Nehammer and the top candidate in Graz, Daniela Gmeinbauer, received 21.3 percentage points, a hair's breadth less than the SPÖ with 21.7 percent.

"Graz is a ray of hope"
The Social Democrats also came first in the EU elections. "This is a ray of hope and shows us that we can win elections in Graz," says SPÖ Graz leader Doris Kampus, explaining the success. "The SPÖ's issues are definitely relevant to the people of Graz."

Delighted about the tripling of votes in Graz: Elke Kahr, Franz Parteder and Hanno Wisiak(Bild: Sepp Pail)

The mayoral party KPÖ, which has such strong roots in Graz, may have missed out on a place in the National Council, but in Graz it almost tripled its votes from 2.2 to over 6 percent. "This is our best result in a National Council election, and I am very grateful for that," says Elke Kahr.

With 12 percent, the Neos are well ahead of the KPÖ - a slight gain compared to 2019.