Current survey

Only just “enough” for Austria’s politics

More than half of Austrians give a "spot" to politics.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/GEORG HOCHMUTH, APA/Krone KREATIV, stock.adobe.com)

Whether Kickl, Babler, Stocker, Kogler or Meinl-Reisinger - they have all shown in recent months how not to do it. Unsurprisingly, the voters are following suit. And they say: "Sit down, (not) enough!" The "Krone" has the latest figures on the mood in the country - and two party leaders in particular are surprising.

And it is, unsurprisingly, lousy: "What is the overall picture of politics in Austria at the moment?" asked the opinion research institute IFDD on behalf of Puls24. The answer: just about "sufficient", with an average grade of 4.4. More than half (58%) of the 1,250 respondents even gave politics a "not sufficient". Not a single Austrian gave it a "very good", although one percent of those surveyed were able to score a "good". One in ten gave it a "satisfactory".

Two-party coalition only with FPÖ participation
Now we have the politicians we have - and neither red, black, blue, green nor pink are about to change at the top. If there were to be new elections, which is not out of the question: So who would the Austrians vote for with the existing top personnel? At 33%, the FPÖ would record a clear increase compared to the National Council elections at the end of September (28.8%), while the ÖVP under new party leader Christian Stocker would slip from 26.3% to 19.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

The SPÖ would remain roughly the same (from 21.1 to 22 percent), while the Greens (10 percent) and NEOS (11 percent) would each see an increase of two percent. The KPÖ could make slight gains, but not enough to enter the National Council.

If a new election were to be held, black-red would also be history, as the SPÖ and ÖVP would not have a majority together, while the FPÖ could continue to choose between red and black as a coalition partner. 

Kickl and Meinl-Reisinger more popular than their parties
The picture is also clear in the case of a direct election for chancellor, which does not exist in Austria: more than a third of respondents would like Herbert Kickl to be chancellor (35%), while a fifth would vote for Christian Stocker directly (20%). Excitingly, Andreas Babler is below his party's figure with 17% and not far behind Beate Meinl-Reisinger (14%), who is significantly more popular than the NEOS party she leads. Werner Kogler is roughly on a par with his Green Party with eleven percent.