Consequences at the federal level?

High tension: Everyone is waiting for the result

(Bild: Imre Antal)

The SPÖ suffered a bitter defeat on Sunday in the local elections in St. Pölten, the capital of Lower Austria. For the first time since 1965, the Social Democrats lost their absolute majority. 

Mayor Matthias Stadler must now seek a coalition partner. One pollster sees implications for federal and state politics.

Provisional final result:

• SPÖ: 42.53 percent (- 13.49 percentage points)
• ÖVP: 21.38 percent (- 1.36 percentage points)
• FPÖ: 19 .75 percent (+ 10.8 percentage points)
• Greens: 9 .66 percent (+ 1.65 percentage points)
• NEOS: 2.72 percent (-0.47 percentage points)
• KPÖ: 3 .8 percent (+ 2.71 percentage points)

The most important facts from election day in brief:

• The SPÖ loses its absolute majority in St. Pölten for the first time since 1965. Stadler was still "positive" when he cast his vote.

• In the race for second place, the ÖVP (slightly down) narrowly beat the FPÖ. However, the Freedom Party made significant gains.

• There is a small gain for the Greens. NEOS and KPÖ are also represented in the new municipal council. 

• Voter turnout was 59.1 percent, slightly higher than in 2021 (55.96 percent).

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Frosty temperatures
Thick fog hung over St. Pölten on Sunday morning. Even in the morning, the thermometer still did not rise above freezing. As a result, the roads were slippery in places. A fitting image for the morning of election Sunday. It was not until the evening that the fog over the political future of the state capital would lift. And only then would it be clear which of the seven leading candidates had slipped on the slippery political floor.

In some places, it was slippery as glass in St. Pölten on Sunday.(Bild: Imre Antal)

Heavy losses for the SPÖ became apparent early on
And after the first districts had been counted, it was already apparent that the ruling Social Democrats in particular were slipping. And the closer the evening came with the announced announcement of the preliminary final results of the local council elections in the state capital, the clearer the trend became: the SPÖ's absolute majority could fall.

At 7 p.m., with only seven districts still to be counted, the official confirmation came. Mayor and leading red candidate Matthias Stadler admitted: "It seems that those who wanted to break the SPÖ's absolute majority have been vindicated today." It was also clear that the ÖVP and FPÖ were in a thrilling neck-and-neck race for second place.

"Austerity is simply not popular."
But then the election bureaucracy in City Hall suddenly came to a standstill. It was not until shortly after 8 p.m. that the preliminary final results were finally determined. And they reveal a veritable political earthquake in the state capital: the SPÖ has lost its absolute majority—and by a significant margin. Matthias Stadler and his faction, accustomed to success, suffered losses of more than 13 percent of the vote. In an initial statement, the defeated city leader attributed this to, among other things, the necessary budget consolidation: "Saving money is just not popular." However, Stadler gave a clear answer to the question of whether he was considering stepping down in light of the election results: "I'm staying on board!"

Mayor Matthias Stadler (SPÖ), right, and FPÖ top candidate Martin Antauer(Bild: Imre Antal)

ÖVP ultimately took second place
ÖVP top candidate Florian Krumböck was able to breathe a sigh of relief atthe endof the day. Despite slight losses, he was able to claim second place in City Hall in his first run as top candidate: "We have experienced a historic election day." He is now eagerly awaiting the talks after election Sunday, as the SPÖ must find a coalition partner. Krumböck's claim is clear: "We must now see how we can change the city."

ÖVP frontrunner Florian Krumböck(Bild: Imre Antal)

Aftershocks in federal and state politics
Opinion pollster Christoph Haselmayer expects this political earthquake in St. Pölten to have aftershocks in federal and statepolitics. SPÖ leader Andreas Babler has made the communists socially acceptable, and he will not "survive politically" as a result.

And the FPÖ's election success is a clear warning signal to state governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner: "Because not even in Jörg Haider's day did the FPÖ have more than 15 percent in St. Pölten."