The state elections in Salzburg produced a few surprises: the KPÖ plus, which had been predicted to be a respectable success and jump over the five percent hurdle, won – according to initial projections – at least eleven percent of the votes; in the city of Salzburg, the KPÖ even came in second with 21.8 percent, after the ÖVP (24.4 percent) and ahead of the FPÖ (20.2 percent).
The ÖVP, which has been in power for decades, lost almost nine percent, came to around 29 percent and is almost on a par with the FPÖ. The has increased massively and comes to 27 percent. The victors are the extreme right and the extreme left.
Since the universally respected ÖVP governor Wilfried Haslauer made it clear in the run-up to the election that he found the tonality and agenda of the Freedom Party intolerable, it is assumed in Salzburg that there should be a coalition of ÖVP, SPÖ and Greens . In addition to the liberal Neos, the Greens had already formed a so-called dirndl coalition with the ÖVP and lost almost one percent. The Neos will probably no longer make it into the state parliament.
SPÖ and ÖVP lose
The SPÖ, on the other hand, lost moderately and ended up with only about 18 percent. The poor result is attributed to the power struggle in the federal SPÖ, where a member survey about the party leadership is currently underway. But even top candidate David Egger was not convincing after he had accepted the FPÖ’s demand for a repayment of fines to citizens who had not adhered to Corona rules during the pandemic.
The rise of the FPÖ was expected, as was the sharp decline of the conservatives: since the investigations against ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, numerous of his employees and the party itself, the ÖVP has found it very difficult to regain the trust of voters. With a migration, transport and environmental policy based on FPÖ demands, the ÖVP under Chancellor Karl Nehammer has also tended to strengthen the Freedom Party, who, with a radical anti-Covid course and a Kremlin-friendly attitude, won many voters from the so-called lateral thinker spectrum attracted.
But the entry of the KPÖ plus, as the left in Salzburg are called, under the top candidate Kay-Michael Dankl is considered the real sensation. After the Styrian state capital Graz, which is governed by a KPÖ mayor, the KPÖ is now also based in the venerable Chiemseehaus, the Salzburg state parliament. The alert and sympathetic young politician Dankl scored above all with housing policy and promised to offer nationwide housing and social counseling. Overpriced rents are one of the biggest problems of life in the region, which attracts many tourists but is hardly affordable for the people of Salzburg.