Demonstration of power

ÖVP remains the clear number 1 among Lower Austrian farmers

Farmers in Lower Austria have voted.(Bild: P. Huber)

President Johannes Schmuckenschlager's team holds 32 out of 36 seats in the plenary assembly of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture after the farmers' election Sunday 

An audible sigh of relief went through the ranks of the Lower Austrian Farmers' Association on Sunday evening. The nervousness ahead of the Chamber of Agriculture election was palpable. But after the count, the black farmers' representatives' claim to power is unbroken: 82 percent means a slight drop of just under 3 percent, but the farmers' association now has 32 of 36 representatives in the plenary assembly, the president, both vice-presidents and all 21 chamber heads and their deputies at district level.

Farmers know who they can rely on - not only before but also after the elections.

Johannes Schmuckenschlager, Spitzenkandidat des Bauernbundes

Bild: Imre Antal

Five lists stood
For the first time, the Farmers' Union had to run against four competing lists this time. The Independent Farmers achieved 9.81% (3 seats), the Freedom Party (FB) achieved 4.88% and 1 seat. The SPÖ farmers with 2.19 percent and the Green Farmers (GBB) with 1.11 percent failed to reach the four percent hurdle for entry into the Chamber's plenary assembly.

This election was held under the motto 'All against the Farmers' Union' - and yet we achieved a sensational result under the most difficult conditions.

Stephan Pernkopf, Bauernbund-Obmann

Bild: NLK/Filzwieser

Young team of candidates
For pollster Christoph Haselmayer, the conclusion of the election is: "The FPÖ is being crushed by the Farmers' Union." President Johannes Schmuckenschlager on the one hand and the young team of the Farmers' Union on the other were the guarantors of the success, analyzes Haselmayer: "The ÖVP list entered the race with candidates with an average age of 40 years."