Next rebuff

Greens: “

The disappointment was written all over the Greens' faces when the first projections were made on Sunday.(Bild: Barbara Winkler)

It hurts: from 12.1 percent of the vote in the last Styrian state election to 6.2 percent - the Greens fell hard again on Sunday. "That hurts, the result is bitter," said regional managing director Timon Scheurer in an initial reaction.

"It's great that you all came, let's get through it together. Let's see how we can help and support each other". Timon Scheurer, Green Party regional manager in Styria, probably had something of a premonition. Because he said the above quote in Graz's Lendhafen, the Green polling station, half an hour before the first official projection was shown on the screens.

Unfortunately, the polls were right. Our last hope now rests on Graz - but we no longer need to hope for miracles.

Judith Schwentner, Vizebürgermeisterin von Graz

When the first results finally arrived shortly after 4 p.m., the mood didn't get any better: nobody had expected the votes to be halved after all, and the loudest murmur went through the room when the FPÖ result was announced. The champagne glasses remained untouched.

"Makes me very sad"
Green Party leader Sandra Krautwaschl did not come to the polling station for the projection, and Upper Styrian MP Lambert Schönleitner did not arrive until later in the day.

The Deputy Mayor of Graz, Judith Schwentner, bravely held her ground in the front row, while Olga Voglauer, a member of the National Council, traveled from Vienna. "Although the result was predicted to a certain extent, the fact that it's actually the way it is now makes me very sad," commented Schwentner on the provisional outcome of the election. She wants to stick to her course in Graz unwaveringly: "We will continue on the path we have taken together with the KPÖ."

Green hope remains
Edith Zitz entered the Styrian state parliament for the Greens in 1995 and turned her back on politics in 2010. The 59-year-old also mingled with the audience.

Former politician Edith Zitz.(Bild: Juergen Fuchs)

Zitz was one of the few who did not freeze smiling: "Climate protection, women's policy and human rights are the most important issues for me. I am confident that there will continue to be enough people in this country who will stand up for them - even outside the party."