After the Styrian election

After all! Kunasek wants to form government with ÖVP

FPÖ leader Mario Kunasek wants to enter into coalition negotiations with Christopher Drexler's ÖVP.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

The die is cast: After its brilliant triumph in the state elections, the FPÖ has now decided on the ÖVP as its preferred partner for the new state government. For the first time in history, the SPÖ will have to go into opposition in Styria.

For the first time in history, the Freedom Party emerged as the party with the most votes in a Styrian provincial election. After both the ÖVP and the SPÖ had to swallow their worst ever election result in the Grüne Mark, the only question was with which of the two big losers of the election Mario Kunasek will share the reins of government in future.

Decision made in the FPÖ presidium
The rumor mill was still churning on Sunday morning - at first it was said that blue-red was fixed. A short time later, the People's Party seemed to be in pole position again. By midday, both parties were still in the race to join the government. The decision was finally made shortly after 6 pm following an online conference of the FPÖ presidium. The seven-member committee ultimately gave the green light for blue-black. The coalition negotiations that followed should now only be a formality. According to reports, the ÖVP even agreed to forego the controversial lead hospital in the Liezen district. 

"We have decided that we will now enter into in-depth talks with the People's Party," Kunasek told the "Krone" newspaper. This also reflects the will of the voters for the strongest party to govern with the second strongest. "The overlaps with the ÖVP in terms of content are simply greater." The aim now is to quickly establish a viable and effective state government. "In view of the current political vacuum at federal level and the economic challenges, this is the order of the day," said Kunasek.

Will Drexler stay?
The big question now is whether Christopher Drexler, who is still governor of the state, will remain part of the blue-black coalition. After he submitted the vote of confidence to the state party executive on Monday, he was actually only given responsibility for the government talks.

"I am convinced that a coalition of the FPÖ and the People's Party can not only offer the greatest stability for Styria, but that together our parties can best solve the most pressing challenges facing our country," said Drexler. "We have seen in the exploratory talks that there is a very good basis for discussion. This makes me confident that we will be able to conduct swift, successful negotiations on a strong state government for the coming years." Doesn't really sound like a farewell ...

Anton Lang and the SPÖ must go into opposition.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

SPÖ on the ground
A heavy blow for the Styrian Social Democrats in any case. For the first time in its history, the SPÖ has to go into opposition in the state parliament. This means that the future of party leader Anton Lang is once again completely open. The party executive expressed its confidence in the deputy governor, who is still in office, only last Monday. Whether he will also lead the Reds as party leader in opposition, however, seems more than questionable.