The Austrian Social Democrats (SPÖ) won the Viennese state elections on Sunday, April 27th, continuing their control over the Austrian capital that has been uninterrupted since WWII. The SPÖ got 39.5% of the votes, a 2 percentage point drop compared to 2020.
The right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ) finished in second place, tripling its share of the votes, receiving 20.8%.
The FPÖ won national elections for the first time ever last year, getting almost a third of votes, but failed to find partners to form a government. Their strong result in left-leaning Vienna reflects the disillusionment among voters with the mainstream parties.
On Sunday, the Greens came in third, the liberal NEOS in fourth, and the biggest loser of the election was the centre-right People’s Party (ÖVP) which lost almost 11 points compared to five years ago, finishing on 9.7%.
The ÖVP recently formed a national government with the SPÖ and NEOS, despite voters’ desire for a conservative government featuring the FPÖ and the ÖVP.
Unsurprisingly, Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig has ruled out governing Vienna with the FPÖ, which says the city has become unsafe and should stop spending money on supporting the integration of Syrian, Afghan, and other asylum seekers.
