National Council election in Austria 2008
The 24th National Council election in Austria took place on September 28, 2008. This early election took place due to the dissolution of the coalition of SPÖ and ÖVP , which had been preceded by ongoing conflicts between the two governing parties.
Changes in electoral law
After the change in the right to vote on July 1, 2007, it was possible in 2008 for the first time in an election to the Austrian National Council to exercise the right to vote from the age of 16. However, the right to stand for election came into effect from the age of 18.
For the first time it was also possible to apply for a voting card for a postal vote. Those persons who were absent, imprisoned or bedridden on election day were entitled to do so. In the latter case, the electoral authority could also make house calls. The deadline for applying for a voting card was September 26, 2008.
For the first time, the legislative period was five years.
Election result
The party with the largest number of votes was the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) with Werner Faymann , which had to accept major losses compared to the 2006 election. With even heavier losses, the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) with Wilhelm Molterer came second. Both parties achieved their worst result in the Second Republic in this election.
Third place went to the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and the fourth place Bündnis Zukunft Österreich (BZÖ), which more than doubled its share of the vote and thus overtook the Greens .
Of the nationwide parties that stood up, the list of Fritz Dinkhauser - Citizens 'Forum Austria (FRITZ), Die Christians (DC), the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ), the Liberal Forum (LIF) and the Independent Citizens' Initiative Save Austria (RETTÖ) did not make it to the National Council. . In addition, the left in five federal states, the Stark list (STARK) and the Dipl.-Ing. Karlheinz Klement (KHK) joined the animal rights party earth-human-animals-nature (TRP ) in Carinthia and Vienna , which also did not make it into the National Council.
New federal government
After 56 days of coalition negotiations, the result led to the continuation of the grand coalition , this time under the new Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann and Vice Chancellor Josef Pröll .
Overall result
Bottom line
Official final result (including all voting cards)
|
Results 2008 | Results 2006 | Change from 2008 to 2006 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Election dates | ||||||||||||
| number | proportion of | number | proportion of | number | proportion of | |||||||
| Eligible voters | 6.333.109 | - | 6,107,892 | - | +225.217 | - | ||||||
| submitted | 4,990,952 | 78.81% | 4,793,735 | 78.48% | +197.217 | + 0.33% | ||||||
| invalid | 103,643 | 2.08% | 85,454 | 1.78% | 18,189 | + 0.29% | ||||||
| valid | 4,887,309 | 97.92% | 4,708,281 | 98.22% | 179,028 | −0.29% | ||||||
| Election results | ||||||||||||
| Candidates | be right | proportion of | relative | Man- date |
be right | proportion of | relative | Man- date |
be right | proportion of | relative | Man- date |
SPÖ 
|
1.430.206 | 29.26% | 22.58% | 57 | 1,663,986 | 35.34% | 27.24% | 68 | −233.780 | −6.08% | −4.66% | −11 |
| ÖVP | 1,269,656 | 25.98% | 20.05% | 51 | 1,616,493 | 34.33% | 26.47% | 66 | −346.837 | −8.35% | −6.42% | −15 |
FPÖ 
|
857.029 | 17.54% | 13.53% | 34 | 519,598 | 11.04% | 8.51% | 21st | +337.431 | + 6.50% | +5.03% | +13 |
BZÖ 
|
522.933 | 10.70% | 8.26% | 21st | 193,539 | 4.11% | 3.17% | 7th | +329.394 | + 6.59% | +5.09% | +14 |
GREEN 
|
509.936 | 10.43% | 8.05% | 20th | 520.130 | 11.05% | 8.52% | 21st | −10.194 | −0.61% | −0.46% | −1 |
LIF 
|
102,249 | 2.09% | 1.61% | 0 | not running 1) | +102,249 | + 2.09% | +1.61% | ± 0 | |||
| FRITZ | 86.194 | 1.76% | 1.36% | 0 | not running | +86.194 | +1.76% | +1.36% | ± 0 | |||
KPÖ 
|
37,362 | 0.76% | 0.59% | 0 | 47,578 | 1.01% | 0.78% | 0 | −10.216 | −0.25% | −0.19% | ± 0 |
| RETTÖ | 35,718 | 0.73% | 0.56% | 0 | not running | +35,718 | + 0.73% | +0.56% | ± 0 | |||
DC 
|
31,080 | 0.64% | 0.49% | 0 | not running | +31,080 | +0.64% | + 0.49% | ± 0 | |||
| TRP 5) | 2.224 | 0.05% | 0.04% | 0 | not running | +2,224 | + 0.05% | + 0.04% | ± 0 | |||
LEFT 2) 
|
1,789 | 0.04% | 0.03% | 0 | not running | +1,789 | + 0.04% | +0.03% | ± 0 | |||
|
DIE LINKE 2)
|
349 | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0 | not running | +349 | + 0.01% | + 0.01% | ± 0 | |||
| KHK 3) | 347 | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0 | not running | +347 | + 0.01% | + 0.01% | ± 0 | |||
| STRONG 4) | 237 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0 | 312 | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0 | −75 | −0.00% | −0.00% | ± 0 |
| MARTIN | not running | 131,688 | 2.80% | 2.16% | 0 | -131,688 | -2.80% | -2.16% | ± 0 | |||
| NFÖ | not running | 10,594 | 0.23% | 0.17% | 0 | -10,594 | -0.23% | -0.17% | ± 0 | |||
| SLP | not running | 2,257 | 0.05% | 0.04% | 0 | -2,257 | -0.05% | -0.04% | ± 0 | |||
| SOW | not running | 1,514 | 0.03% | 0.02% | 0 | -1,514 | -0.03% | -0.02% | ± 0 | |||
| Ive | not running | 592 | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0 | -592 | -0.01% | -0.01% | ± 0 | |||
| Non and invalid voters | ||||||||||||
| - | 1,445,800 | - | 22.83% | - | 1,399,611 | - | 22.91% | - | 46.189 | - | −0.09% | - |
| Remarks: 1) Was represented in the National Council through an electoral alliance with the SPÖ in the previous legislative period. 2) The Left electoral alliance competed in Burgenland, Upper Austria, Salzburg and Vienna as the “Left”, in Tyrol as “The Left”. 3) Dipl.-Ing. Karlheinz H. Klement (candidacy only in Carinthia) 4) Stark list (candidacy only in Carinthia) 5) animal rights party earth-human-animals-nature (candidacy only in Vienna) |
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Country results in the National Council election 2008 according to the final result (with voting cards and postal vote)
Constituency results in the National Council election 2008 based on the final result (with voting cards and postal votes)
District results in the National Council election 2008 according to the final result (with voting cards and postal vote)
Community results in the National Council election 2008 according to the preliminary final result (without voting cards and postal votes)
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Results in the federal states
- While the SPÖ was able to prevail in Burgenland , Upper Austria , Styria and Vienna , the ÖVP was ahead in Lower Austria , Salzburg , Tyrol and Vorarlberg . After Styria just went to the ÖVP in 2006, this time the SPÖ was the party with the strongest vote there.
- The BZÖ was able to prevail in its stronghold of Carinthia with more than 10 percentage points before the SPÖ and thus win for the first time in a National Council election in a federal state.
- The FPÖ achieved its best result in Vienna, where it received 20.4% voter approval and took second place behind the SPÖ. Especially in the outskirts, the Freedom Party was able to score.
- The Greens got their votes mainly from Vorarlberg and Vienna, where they profited from the losses of the major parties. In Vienna they lost many votes to the Liberal Forum and achieved a percentage worse result than in the National Council election in 2006 , but they emerged as the party with the highest number of votes in five districts of Vienna, two districts more than in 2006.
| Bgld | Know | Lower Austria | Upper Austria | Sbg | Styria | Tyrol | Vbg | Vienna | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPÖ | 40.1 | 28.1 | 30.4 | 30.5 | 23.8 | 29.3 | 18.0 | 14.1 | 34.8 |
| ÖVP | 29.1 | 14.6 | 32.2 | 26.8 | 29.1 | 26.2 | 31.1 | 31.3 | 16.7 |
| FPÖ | 16.2 | 7.6 | 18.1 | 19.0 | 17.7 | 17.3 | 17.0 | 16.1 | 20.4 |
| BZÖ | 5.3 | 38.5 | 6.3 | 9.1 | 12.2 | 13.2 | 9.7 | 12.8 | 4.7 |
| Green | 5.7 | 6.9 | 8.1 | 9.9 | 11.8 | 8.5 | 11.1 | 17.2 | 16.0 |
Streams of voters
While the SPÖ was able to win among former FPÖ, ÖVP and Green voters, the only significant increase in votes of the ÖVP came exclusively from the Greens. The massive losses to the FPÖ and BZÖ are striking in both major parties, with the FPÖ gaining more votes from former SPÖ voters and the BZÖ more ÖVP voters. In the case of the Greens, the greatest losses went to others and non-voters.
background
The National Council election on October 1, 2006 was followed by the Gusenbauer government on January 11, 2007 , a coalition of the two parties with the highest number of votes, the SPÖ and ÖVP . The SPÖ had 68 and the ÖVP 66 out of 183 members of the National Council. This coalition, which succeeded the Schüssel II government (ÖVP / BZÖ), was initially criticized primarily by the opposition, left-wing organizations and organizations close to the SPÖ, because the Social Democrats were only able to push through a few demands from the 2006 election campaign.
The government has seldom reached agreement on major issues. The parliamentary committee of inquiry into possible misconduct by former interior ministers of the ÖVP, which was decided by the SPÖ together with the Greens , FPÖ and BZÖ and vehemently rejected by the ÖVP, became a constant source of conflict. In February and March 2008, demands by the SPÖ to support inflation-affected households with 100 euros and to bring forward the planned tax reform from 2010 to 2009 led to a serious government crisis, which the ÖVP rejected.
The news magazine profil published a leaked strategy paper from the ÖVP, according to which the ÖVP had planned to dissolve the coalition and hold new elections in June.
On June 8, the then ÖVP politician Fritz Dinkhauser won 18% of the votes with his own list in the state elections in Tyrol , while both ÖVP (minus 9.39%) and the SPÖ (minus 10.39%) lost heavily . At the ÖVP, Interior Minister Günther Platter then moved to Tyrol as governor and replaced Herwig van Staa . In the SPÖ, there was criticism of the party chairman and Chancellor Gusenbauer, which had arisen after the state elections in Lower Austria (SPÖ: minus 9.39%). In mid-June 2008, the decision was made to designate Infrastructure Minister Werner Faymann as party leader. It was initially planned that Gusenbauer, as the incumbent Chancellor, would also be the party's top candidate in the next election, while Faymann would lead the party agendas.
On June 26th, Faymann and Gusenbauer announced in a letter to the editor to the Kronen Zeitung “that future treaty changes that affect Austrian interests should be decided by a referendum in Austria”. On July 7th, ÖVP Federal Party Chairman and Vice Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer announced the decision to end the cooperation with the Social Democrats with the statement “It is enough”.
Molterer justified the demand for new elections by stating that the SPÖ was "disoriented and leaderless" and that a new government was therefore necessary.
Parties entered
With ten parties running nationwide, there was more to choose from than ever before in the Second Republic. In addition, there were four other parties running in individual federal states.
Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ)
After the new election announcement by the ÖVP, Alfred Gusenbauer announced that he would not be available as a top candidate for the election in September. The previous Minister of Infrastructure, Werner Faymann , became the top candidate . The party's federal manager, Doris Bures , was appointed campaign manager.
On July 14, 2008, the parliamentary group of Social Democratic trade unionists presented their list candidate Wilhelm Haberzettl , who came third on the SPÖ list, behind National Council President Barbara Prammer and ahead of Laura Rudas . In the 2006 National Council election, trade unionists were not placed on promising places on the list because of the BAWAG affair .
The official campaign budget was 9.5 million euros. The SPÖ named a reform of labor law , such as a ban on disadvantageous contractual clauses and strengthening the rights of part-time workers , as the central point of its election program . As a measure against inflation, she wants to strengthen the federal competition authority and lower the sales tax on food to five percent. Furthermore, the commuter allowance is to be increased. In addition, the SPÖ stuck to the demands of the previous election campaign, such as the introduction of basic security or the capital gains tax . In the area of childcare, there should be “affordable” childcare places. In addition, childcare for children under three is to be gradually expanded and compulsory schooling is to be reduced to an age of five.
According to Faymann, the SPÖ ruled out a coalition with the Freedom Party of Austria and the Alliance for the Future of Austria.
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP)
For the Austrian People's Party joined Wilhelm Molterer as the top candidate. The campaign leader was Secretary General Hannes Missethon . In contrast to the last election, the ÖVP did not exclude a coalition partner this time, but they would have to commit to the European Union. Molterer also spoke out in favor of a coalition with the Greens.
The official election campaign budget was 8.5 million euros.
The ÖVP mentioned the reduction of the tax and contribution rate to below 40% as part of a tax reform in 2010 and the achievement of a zero deficit in 2011 as election campaign topics . In the course of this tax reform, a stronger incentive for the profit sharing of employees in companies is to be set. Furthermore, the ÖVP wants to introduce an “Austria Ticket”, which enables nationwide use of public transport. In the area of immigration, she calls for compulsory German courses for immigrants. In the area of childcare, there should be a compulsory, free year of kindergarten.
The ÖVP responded to the SPÖ's five-point program with a new proposal . With a waiting period of up to 14 months, she no longer wants to pay out a fixed childcare allowance , but rather 80% of the last earnings to the caregivers.
The Greens - The Green Alternative (GREEN)
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The Greens - The Green Alternative welcomed the announcement of the new election. The party leader and top candidate Alexander Van der Bellen announced that his party would be part of a government after the elections.
Security spokesman Peter Pilz sees a condition for a coalition with the ÖVP to turn away from their "abuse of power" such as post cheating and the illegal disclosure of confidential data, such as in the case of the deportation of the Zogaj family .
As a prerequisite, Van der Bellen also stated that the ÖVP had to change. Cooperation with the SPÖ is also conceivable, but the Greens see a major problem in the SPÖ's changed EU course.
The election campaign budget is said to have been up to three million euros. The Greens cite the long-term exit from oil and gas as a central election campaign issue. To this end, public transport is to be expanded and subsidized more strongly in order to improve the quality of the offer and enable students to use it free of charge. In order to contain heating costs, there should be a legal renovation obligation for owners of apartment buildings , the switch from oil heating to environmentally friendly heating should be subsidized to 50%. Furthermore, the middle class is to be relieved by lowering the wage tax and reforming the wealth tax .
In the field of education, comprehensive schools are to be introduced and more money is to be made available for universities. The training of educators is to be standardized.
Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ)
The head of the Freedom Party , Heinz-Christian Strache , criticized the ÖVP for announcing new elections and called for the administrative costs for the new election to be passed on to the coalition parties.
Strache ruled out a collaboration with the ÖVP under Wilhelm Molterer and with the SPÖ under Werner Faymann. Rather, Strache hoped that the major parties would lose votes. On July 29, 2008, Strache was officially elected as the top candidate.
According to its own statements, the FPÖ wanted to raise a maximum of three million euros in the election campaign budget.
In the area of health and immigration policy, third-country nationals should receive their own social insurance . Furthermore, the FPÖ demanded a stricter punishment for "social abuse". The FPÖ wanted to reduce Austria's payments or net contribution to the European Union and, if the population were to vote against the EU in a referendum, it would consider leaving the EU. In the social area, the pensions should be increased based on the so-called "pensioner price index" and the "hackers regulation" extended.
BZÖ - List Jörg Haider (BZÖ)
Initially, Peter Westenthaler intended to run as the top candidate, but no top candidate was officially identified by the beginning of August. The party's federal executive commissioned Westenthaler to set up an election campaign team by the end of July 2008. On July 29, 2008, the deputy federal party leader, Stefan Petzner , announced that Westenthaler would not run after he had been sentenced to nine months of conditional imprisonment in the first instance for false testimony .
On August 14, 2008, it was announced that Jörg Haider would run as the top candidate, but would not accept any mandate from the National Council, and would continue to remain Governor of Carinthia. Haider only sees the role of Federal Chancellor as a greater challenge than that of Governor. The official list name was therefore changed to "BZÖ - List Jörg Haider" and confirmed on August 30 at a special party conference in Graz .
According to the party, around one million euros should flow into the election campaign, which came from savings.
As in the 2006 National Council election, immigration was a key issue. Jörg Haider demanded that asylum seekers who were guilty of a serious crime be constantly guarded in a "special accommodation". This is already the case with ongoing criminal proceedings against asylum seekers, an outcome only takes place with accompaniment.
The BZÖ also called for a reduction in the mineral oil tax on fuels. Haider called for so-called cheap petrol stations , which in Carinthia offer cheaper diesel thanks to his initiative, to be set up throughout Austria.
Citizens' Forum Austria - List Fritz Dinkhauser (FRITZ)
After the success of his Bürgerforum Tirol in the state election in Tyrol, party founder Fritz Dinkhauser decided to run under the name Bürgerforum Österreich - List Fritz Dinkhauser (FRITZ). Central themes of the party were a “fairer distribution policy”, which was to be achieved by reintroducing the wealth tax and lowering the entry tax rate . The party was supported by the platform Free Citizens' Lists from Burgenland and the IG-Milch founder Leo Steinbichler from Upper Austria.
The Christians (DC)
After the state elections in Lower Austria and Tyrol, Christians ran for the first time in national council elections. The party's top candidate was the lawyer Alfons Adam . The Christians placed the family at the center of the party program and called for the introduction of a “mother's salary” and the abolition of the deadline solution . Furthermore, the family allowance should be increased and a voluntary family splitting should be introduced.
Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ)
The KPÖ competed in this election with Mirko Messner and Melina Klaus. In their “immediate program” for election, they called for redistribution through taxation of capital and assets, a wealth tax, a tax on added value and the abolition of private foundations. In order to compensate for the inflation, the KPÖ wanted to increase wages, salaries and pensions, as well as introduce a statutory minimum wage of ten euros per hour and a minimum income .
According to the Ö1 morning journal, the party's declared election goal was to join the National Council. The KPÖ named the raising of the top tax rate from the current (2008) 50% to 60% for annual incomes over 70,000 euros, as well as the reintroduction of property and inheritance tax for the purpose of "redistribution from top to bottom" as the campaign topic.
Liberal Forum (LIF)
On July 25, it was announced that the Liberal Forum with Heide Schmidt as the top candidate would be in the election. The LIF received the number of declarations of support required for a nationwide candidacy. The Carinthian Slovene Rudolf Vouk ran as the top candidate in Carinthia . According to the company, the campaign budget was 1.5 million euros.
Schmidt and Hans Peter Haselsteiner named a tax reform with basic security that should be carried out in the coming legislative period as the central theme of their election campaign . As the election goal, Schmidt named the entry into parliament in order to enable a three-party coalition without the FPÖ and BZÖ.
Independent citizens' initiative Rettet Österreich (RETTÖ)
The independent citizens' initiative Rettet Österreich (RETTÖ) competed for the first time in national elections in Austria. She had previously become known for organizing demonstrations against the Lisbon Treaty. The top candidate was the management consultant and former Olympic participant Wilfried Auerbach . RETTÖ called for a referendum on the EU reform treaty , the maintenance of the genetic engineering ban and the maintenance of neutrality .
Other parties
In addition to the nationwide competing parties, “ Die Linke ” also ran, which received the necessary declarations of support in Salzburg, Vienna, Upper Austria, Tyrol and Burgenland. The “Stark list” and the “Dipl.-Ing. Karlheinz Klement ”competed in Carinthia, the animal rights party earth-human-animals-nature in Vienna.
Election campaign
At the beginning of the election campaign, a standstill agreement was reached between the ÖVP and the SPÖ in order not to be outvoted in the other parliamentary sessions. Towards the end of July Wilhelm Molterer presented for the first time a central demand of the ÖVP for the election campaign with the introduction of the 13th family allowance. Molterer's campaign leadership met with criticism from within the party.
At the beginning of August, Peter Westenthaler resigned as head of the BZÖ, as he was sentenced to nine months of conditional imprisonment for a false statement. Jörg Haider then replaced him at the party leadership, a top candidate had not yet been determined at the time.
On August 8, 2008, Werner Faymann was elected as the new Chairman of the Social Democrats with 98%. A short time later, the grand coalition decided on a care package that came into force on January 1, 2009. Among other things, it contained an increase in the care allowance and a higher requirement for 24-hour care.
At the end of August, the Court of Auditors took stock of the negotiations on the Eurofighter contract, whereupon Norbert Darabos received severe criticism from all sides. A few days later, the SPÖ terminated the standstill agreement with the ÖVP and published the 5-point program , which contained measures against inflation.
In early September, internal party affairs between the FPÖ and the Greens generated media coverage. While the Greens presented an animal rights activist who had recently been released from custody on their federal list, new pictures of Heinz-Christian Strache were published showing him doing military sports exercises.
Shortly before the election, a lobbying scandal involving then LIF boss Alexander Zach caused a stir. He resigned because of pressure from his party, Heide Schmidt took over the party chairmanship.
In a National Council meeting on September 24, 2008, four of the five points from the SPÖ's 5-point program were approved. Only the required halving of sales tax could not be decided.
Campaigns
Concepts
The SPÖ used a triangle concept in the election campaign, which consisted of the areas of style change , quick help in the crisis and man first and was able to keep the expected losses against the right-wing parties FPÖ and BZÖ small. In the opinion of the political expert Thomas Hofer , a parallel can be drawn with Bill Clinton's election campaign in 1992, which was characterized by the three statements change , rebuild economy and people first .
Similar to the Social Democrats, the ÖVP did, whose central themes were style change , security and stability, and budget discipline . The opposition parties Greens, FPÖ and BZÖ were mainly focused on encouraging an election against a renewed grand coalition.
After Jörg Haider's decision to lead the BZÖ in the election, the party increasingly presented itself as statesmanlike and campaigned much more positively than the FPÖ and the Greens. Initially, Haider wanted to present Ewald Stadler as the top candidate, for which photo series had already been photographed, but this met with resistance from within the party.
"It is enough!"
The initial phase of the election campaign was initiated with Wilhelm Molterer's saying “It's enough!”. With this, the ÖVP wanted to exactly match the mood of the voters. At the time, the People's Party was up to five percentage points ahead of the SPÖ in the polls. The ÖVP used Molterer's phrase as an advertising slogan. The election campaign of the People's Party was largely inconsistent; the campaign strategists wanted to build on Molterer as a person as well as on central statements.
Werner Faymann and Alfred Gusenbauer withdrew from the public for some time. While Alfred Gusenbauer was held back by the media for strategic reasons, Faymann had to reform and reposition his party.
Campaign style
Most of the election campaign was carried out through the media between the top candidates, and there was hardly any direct address to voters. In addition, the parties no longer hired election campaign consultants from abroad to conduct the campaign, which meant that the campaign managers were responsible for this themselves.
Compared to the last election, the SPÖ no longer relied on “negative campaigning” to signal a new style. By outsourcing the negative election campaign to the Kronen Zeitung , whose publisher at the time Hans Dichand was a close friend of Faymann, she was able to concentrate entirely on a personal election campaign . The ÖVP, on the other hand, was this time more focused on leading the campaign against the SPÖ in a much more negative way.
subjects
The election campaign was largely determined by inflation and rising prices for all parties . According to the Austrian Chamber of Commerce , consumer prices rose by 3.5% in 2008.
While the ÖVP largely paid attention to budget discipline, the SPÖ presented a five-point program as a measure against the effects of inflation. This included halving sales tax , increasing the family allowance , extending the hacking rule , abolishing tuition fees and increasing the care allowance . The program was introduced in a special session of the National Council shortly before the election.
In addition, the BZÖ with Jörg Haider and the FPÖ with Heinz-Christian Strache were right-wing parties in a “foreigner election campaign”. The demand of the BZÖ to introduce electronic ankle cuffs for criminal asylum seekers met with a particularly large media response .
Mostly ignored in the media, the Greens focused on topics such as the introduction of alternative forms of energy, wealth tax, educational reform, women's equality and human rights.
Role of the Kronen Zeitung
Since Werner Faymann published the SPÖ positions on the European Union via a letter to the editor to the Kronen Zeitung , his relationship with the publisher Hans Dichand has been very controversial. The Kronen Zeitung is one of the most influential newspapers in Austria, which led to a debate in opinion polls about its role in the 2008 election campaign. What was noticeable during the election campaign was the sometimes very negative reporting by the Kronen Zeitung about the ÖVP, while there were more positive reports about the SPÖ.
The Fessel-GfK-Institut carried out a survey in summer 2008, which showed that around 17% of the readers of the Kronen Zeitung are exclusive readers. It was also found that around 36% of the readers of the Kronen Zeitung SPÖ, around 26% the FPÖ, 17% the ÖVP, 12% the BZÖ and just under 1% voted for the Greens.
Election programs
The parties represented in parliament published their own programs for the election campaign. The most important statements in key topics at a glance
Work and social
- SPÖ: Combating discrimination on the labor market; Striving for full employment in Austria by promoting research and integrating the long-term unemployed ; Introduction of needs-based minimum income .
- ÖVP: Promotion of jobs in the tourism sector ; Reform of wage tax 2010 without counter-financing by increasing taxes; Extension of the " Hackler Regulation " until 2013; Investing in Research.
- GREEN: introduction of basic security; Insurance coverage for all employment relationships; Reduction of normal and maximum working hours; Lowering the wage tax.
- FPÖ: Advancing the retraining and further training measures of the labor market service ; Non-taxation of overtime; tax deductibility of household-related services; Lowering the wage tax.
- BZÖ: practice-oriented retraining; Job bonus for one-person companies; Increase in a statutory minimum wage to € 1,000 net; Introduction of the “ mother's salary ”.
Budget and finances
- SPÖ: introduction of capital gains tax ; Relief for middle and lower incomes by bringing the planned tax reform forward to 2009.
- ÖVP: Financing of tax reform through state and administrative reform; Prevention of the reintroduction of inheritance and gift taxes ; Tax breaks for entrepreneurs.
- GREEN: Increase in wealth taxes; Introduction of the capital gains tax and redistribution by increasing the negative tax .
- FPÖ: Reduction of VAT on basic foods and medicines; Adjustment of corporate income tax to the company's human effort; Abolition of petty taxes (such as land value levy, credit fees, sparkling wine tax, fire protection tax and advertising tax).
- BZÖ: Reduction of taxes on basic food, medicines and rents; Fuel price control; Reduction of the mineral oil tax and the heating oil tax .
Health and care
- SPÖ: Preventing the development of two-class medicine; Improving health education; greater funding of health insurance funds ; purpose-oriented care allowance and needs-oriented care offers; Increase in care allowance.
- ÖVP: promotion of carers; Increase in care allowance; Expansion of hospice care ; Abolition of property limits.
- GREEN: Increase in care allowance; Actionable right to care and support.
- FPÖ: inflation compensation for care allowance; State reimbursement of costs for caring for childless people.
- BZÖ: retraining of nursing staff; Reduction of illegal foreign nurses; Increase in care allowance by ten percent; Structural reform of the health system; Consolidation of the 20 social insurances.
Economy and money
- SPÖ: State as carrier of active economic policy; Creation of a state founding and catching holding company ; Strengthening the infrastructure.
- ÖVP: expansion of the eco-social market economy ; Securing economic growth through budget discipline; Introduction of a Europe-wide tax for particularly speculative investments; Promotion of privatizations.
- GREEN: promoting eco-industry; Promoting women in the economy; Introduction of a speculation tax.
- FPÖ: Abolition of minimum corporate income tax; Promotion of Agriculture.
- BZÖ: introduction of a speculation tax; Economic stimulus program to promote medium-sized companies; Equal treatment for all companies in terms of taxation.
Exterior and Europe
- SPÖ: commitment to Austria's neutrality ; Striving for membership in the UN Security Council; Expansion of civilian deployment capacities abroad; Strengthening of workers 'and workers' rights, expansion of infrastructure and increased support for research at European level; Referendum on future changes in the EU treaty .
- ÖVP: commitment to the European Union; Croatia's accession to the European Union.
- GREEN: referendum on changes in the EU treaty; Introduction of minimum social standards at European level; military operations only on the basis of international law, withdrawal from the EURATOM treaty.
- FPÖ: commitment to neutrality; Rejection of the EU Reform Treaty and Turkey's accession to the EU; Referendum on changes in the EU treaty and accession to Turkey; Considering leaving the EU; Reducing net payments to the EU.
- BZÖ: Financial strengthening of the armed forces; Referendum on EU treaty and Turkey accession to the EU; Commitment to nuclear power plants and genetic engineering in Europe.
Right to stay and integration
- SPÖ: commitment to basic European values as a criterion for immigration; Deportation of illegal immigrants; Access to the labor market for immigrants; Language promotion for those in need of integration.
- ÖVP: expulsion of hate preachers and offenders; faster asylum procedures; Consistent procedures in the event of asylum abuse; Compulsory German courses for immigration from third countries.
- GREEN: Expansion of language courses for immigrants; Respect for refugee conventions; faster asylum procedures.
- FPÖ: Combating asylum and social abuse by expelling immigrants who have committed criminal offenses; Extradition to the home country and lifelong entry ban for delinquent immigrants; Differentiation in the social system.
- BZÖ: deportation of foreign offenders; Introduction of a green card based on the Canadian model; Ban on building mosques and minarets; Prohibition of full body veils.
energy and Environment
- SPÖ: Commitment to an environmental organization of the United Nations; Securing natural resources; efficient thermal insulation; Use of alternative energy; Rejection of nuclear energy.
- ÖVP: commitment to renewable energy in the agricultural sector; Introduction of an Austria ticket for public transport .
- GREENS: Expansion of alternative forms of energy; Strengthening waste prevention; Traffic restrictions for metropolitan areas polluted with fine dust; ecological flood protection; Involvement of citizens' initiatives and non-governmental organizations; Increase in the mineral oil tax .
- FPÖ: use of renewable energy; Expansion of solar, water, wind and bioenergy systems.
- BZÖ: Climate protection law anchored in the constitution; Expansion of hydropower and biomass; Promotion of local public transport.
reporting
watch TV
The election coverage of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation began on August 22nd, 2008 with a television confrontation between Heinz-Christian Strache (FPÖ) and Jörg Haider (BZÖ). This was the first of ten discussion programs in which the top candidates of two parties represented in parliament sat facing each other. Moderator Ingrid Thurnher asked the questions . The confrontations for the 2008 election achieved a greater reach than those for the 2006 National Council election .
On September 8, 2008, the daily newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten published an analysis of the first five TV duels. According to this, Jörg Haider narrowly won the first discussion against Heinz-Christian Strache. Haider's emphasis on his work as governor of Carinthia was decisive .
In the second argument between Werner Faymann and Alexander Van der Bellen there were surprises, so Faymann had slipped into the role of the opposition , while Van der Bellen had presented himself to the state. The third confrontation revealed new sides of the top candidates Jörg Haider and Wilhelm Molterer. While Jörg Haider appeared as a kind country father , the ÖVP boss behaved rather passively. Molterer was much more aggressive in the following duel against Strache. The FPÖ's top candidate had little to oppose him. The discussion between Jörg Haider and Alexander Van der Bellen ran without any significant highlights. Most of the time, both tried to differentiate themselves from each other because they were fishing in completely contrary voter pools.
This time the ORF refrained from inviting representatives of the parties not represented in parliament to the last television duel. Instead, a week before the election, he broadcast a special edition of the discussion format “In the Center”, in which representatives of the Liberal Forum, the Fritz Dinkhauser List, the Christian Party, the KPÖ and the independent citizens' initiative Rettet Austria were guests. In addition to the television confrontations, the ORF showed first-time voters targeted questionnaires with the name “Election 2008 - Your Question”. For each edition, school classes in the tenth and eleventh grades were invited and the respective top candidates were interviewed.
The private television stations ATV and Puls 4 also reported on the National Council election. Following the example of the television discussions during the election campaign for the presidential election in the USA in 2008 , ATV launched the call to upload self-made videos with their own questions to the top candidates of the parties represented in parliament on the Internet video platform YouTube . These were answered in ATV - My Choice on September 21, 2008 by an elephant group of top candidates, with the exception of Werner Faymann. Puls 4 showed special episodes of the show talk of town with the top of the list of the participating parties. The election arena took place on September 17th on Puls 4, where the top candidates from the ÖVP, the Greens, the FPÖ, the BZÖ and the LIF were guests.
Radio
From September 1st to 5th, the top candidates of all parties represented in the National Council were guests at Ö3 . The audience could ask them about their election campaign topics. In addition, FM4 broadcast a special edition of Reality Check on September 6 , in which the head of the SORA research department, Eva Zeglovits , the journalist Herbert Lackner and the political advisor Thomas Hofer discussed election promises, the indecision of many voters and election strategies. Similar to Ö3, the top candidates were also guests at FM4 Connected .
The private broadcaster 88.6 invited all candidates to a one-hour interview in the week before the election. Every day a candidate was a guest on the show between eight and nine o'clock. Werner Faymann canceled the conversation due to scheduling problems.
Survey
Course without small parties
The polls carried out between June 21 and August 16, 2008 showed strong differences in the forecast proportions of votes of the parties. In the surveys, the ÖVP consistently took first place, only two surveys saw ÖVP and SPÖ on par. After July 7, 2008, the ÖVP was forecast to achieve a result between 28% and 35%, the SPÖ was between 25% and 33%. The FPÖ was clearly in third position, with the polls' results fluctuating between 16% and 22%. The Greens, the third largest parliamentary group in the 2006 election, were in fourth place, with a gap of several percent from the FPÖ. Pollsters saw the Greens at 11% to 16% since July 8. The BZÖ was mostly above the 4% threshold relevant for moving in, with the range between 2% and 6%.
Course with small parties
The appearance of the small parties had a big impact on the polls. A survey commissioned by the daily newspaper Austria saw, in addition to the major parties, opportunities for the EU parliamentarian Hans-Peter Martin , who stood in the last National Council election, and the list of the actor Karlheinz Hackl . While Martin did not run, Hackl failed in an attempt to get the necessary number of declarations of support.
The polls carried out in the later election campaign showed no clear results, at least for the two major parties. The SPÖ survey results fluctuated between 21% and 28% at the beginning and later leveled off between 28% and 32%. For the People's Party, the framework given by the polls was also very large, with voting shares between 23% and 31%. After the ÖVP had given the lead in the surveys to the SPÖ, the pollsters showed results of around 25% to 27% with one exception. The Greens, on the other hand, stagnated at 11% to 15%. According to surveys, the FPÖ could expect a large increase in votes. The institutes reckoned with 15% to 20%. The BZÖ seemed to be able to double its share of the vote: if the alliance was at the 4% hurdle in the initial phase of the election campaign, it made it to up to 10% in the polls. It seemed difficult for the small parties like FRITZ or LIF to move in. While the Tyrolean Dinkhauser fell from 7% to 1%, the values of the Liberal Forum in most surveys remained at 4%.
Media reception of the result
International press
Both the national and international media reacted with surprise to the result of the National Council election, and especially the performance of the BZÖ seemed unexpected due to the significantly lower poll numbers. However, the election success of Jörg Haider in the 1999 National Council election was remembered. Strache and Haider were highlighted as the election winners and that the third camp could be found in second place overall. Internationally renowned newspapers unanimously interpreted the result as a shift to the right and often referred to the parties, which in Austria were consistently “right-wing populist”, as “ extreme right ”. The position and behavior of the major parties and the Kronen Zeitung was also heavily criticized in the German media in particular. The following press reviews are intended to provide a cross-section of the international reactions to the election result:
The predominant tenor of the international reporting was the emphasis that an extreme right, xenophobic and anti-European politics was strengthened:
"Far-Right, Anti-Immigrant Parties Make Gains in Austrian Elections."
"Right-wing extremist, xenophobic parties have won the Austrian elections."
"Austria was shaken by a political earthquake when the neo-fascist right emerged from a parliamentary election together for the first time as the strongest political force in the country."
“The extreme right has celebrated a big comeback in Austria. [...] The Austrian voters are likely to have punished both parties (the ÖVP and the SPÖ) for their inability to govern together. "
"The 30 percent for the far-right parties, who went to vote with xenophobic and anti-EU positions, are a breathtaking blow to the political establishment in Austria."
“Anti-European and populist wave in the Austrian election. [...] It is a massive anti-European parliament that emerged from the polls on Sunday. "
“Strong upswing of the extreme right in Austria. [...] It will be very difficult to ignore almost a third of the voters. "
"La extrema derecha resurge en Austria."
"The extreme right in Austria is growing stronger again."
"The Austrians have decided to roll out the red carpet for the right-wing nationalists."
“The nightmare returns. In Austria the radical and anti-Turkish right is clearing away. […] The fact that two right-wing extremist parties won so many votes in Austria, which had distanced itself from racism since the Second World War, surprised the entire world press. "
The failure of the SPÖ and ÖVP, which had no viable political alternatives to offer, had taken refuge in the unsuccessful adaptation to the right-wing populist parties and were unwilling to face unpleasant issues, was named as the main reason for the rise of the extreme right:
“What, basically, is wrong with the Austrians? Vienna's partners in the European Union will now be asking the main question. In the end, the three parties that campaigned against the EU with hard to hair-raising agitation and / or with innocent polemics together received almost sixty percent of the vote. The seeds that a newspaper has been throwing for years for unreasonable reasons are clearly bearing fruit. The day will still come when the SPÖ leadership will regret having submitted to the operators of this less Euro-skeptical than anti-European campaign. "
“A triumphant extreme right, a coalition of the established, punished by the electorate for their contentious style: That is the disappointing result of the Vienna election Sunday. The Austrian example teaches that it can be counterproductive to try to beat right-wing populist parties with your own arms. "
“The result is also a defeat for the national political system. In our neighboring country it is simply not possible to develop serious political alternatives to the two popular parties that are no longer so big. "
"After the parliamentary elections, Austria proves that the extreme nationalist right is strengthened in European countries if the political center accepts their logic and does not condemn their arguments sufficiently."
“The result of the Austrian elections is a warning to those politicians who do not want to deal with unpleasant issues. However irrational the reluctance to ignore immigration and Brussels to ignore these issues has only given the extremists a boost. "
“The 6.3 million Austrians who were called to the polls largely preferred the populist and intolerant slogans of an extreme right, which in the election campaign focused on the fears of ordinary citizens in a country that has traditionally been strong is bound by its alpine traditions and is afraid of changes. "
“It's shocking: Almost every third Austrian voted right-wing extremist yesterday. It goes without saying that absurd questions are also being asked: Does Homo Austriacus tick differently than the average European? Such assignments are definitely striking - they do not, of course, reflect reality. "
The question of whether the FPÖ and BZÖ should be viewed as “right-wing populist” or “right-wing extremist” was also occasionally addressed:
“The whole world turned to Austria on Sunday when it became clear that the big winners were those parties that are viewed as right-wing extremists. [...] While the western world could classify these two parties as right-wing extremists, the Austrians themselves do not necessarily see them as radical. "
Difficult negotiations and the difficulty of not involving the right-wing parties and a new edition of the grand coalition were considered likely as consequences of the election result for the major parties and the formation of a government:
“The voters are more predictable than the politicians. You have given the two big parties SPÖ and ÖVP the receipts that they have more than earned. One can imagine how difficult it will be to rebuild a government capable of acting out of this mess. "
"The re-launch of a grand coalition is arguably one of the most likely hypotheses after the votes are counted."
"The Austrians have expressed their dissatisfaction and made a coalition almost impossible."
“The result seems to reflect an anti-European boom in Austria. Social democrats and conservatives now have to rethink their leadership and party strategy. "
Behavior of the young electorate
The behavior of young voters was particularly noticeable. While the Greens achieved particularly good results with young people in the 1999 election , this time the two right-wing parties, FPÖ and BZÖ, were popular among the electorate. On behalf of the magazine profil , GfK Austria carried out a post-election survey of first-time voters and those aged 18 to 19. Among the 16 to 29 year olds, the FPÖ was able to achieve 44%, the ÖVP came second in this group with 25%. The 18 to 29 year olds also predominantly voted for the Freedom Party and the BZÖ, while the SPÖ, ÖVP and Greens achieved far worse results.
Election analysis
In the days after the election, opinion polls were asked several times about the election results. It has been claimed several times that the result was more the result of an increased protest election and not - as published by the media - a shift to the right.
The daily newspaper Die Presse published an election analysis the day after the election. Accordingly, the main motive of the voters would have been the question of the chancellor. Jörg Haider (59%) and Werner Faymann (53%) did particularly well . The ÖVP top candidate Wilhelm Molterer received the lowest vote of approval ; only a quarter of the ÖVP voters gave it as a motive for the election. Furthermore, the voters wanted to express a protest against the government.
The weekly magazine profil also scrutinized voting behavior on the basis of a representative survey by the GfK Institute. Accordingly, the SPÖ was ahead with male voters with 29% and with women with 30%. Only the partial electorate of inactive women was able to win the ÖVP by just under one percent. In the age groups, the FPÖ was particularly popular with younger voters and won over the 16 to 30 year olds. The SPÖ was able to score points with the elderly (in the electoral groups over 30 years of age). While the SPÖ received the greatest approval from employees, civil servants and pensioners, most workers and skilled workers voted for the FPÖ, while the ÖVP won among the self-employed and entrepreneurs just ahead of the Greens.
consequences
Party politics
In the week after the election, there were castling in the top staff of the ÖVP and the Greens. On September 29, 2008, Wilhelm Molterer announced his resignation as Federal Chairman of the People's Party due to the poor election result and proposed the Environment Minister and farmers' group, Josef Pröll, as the new party chairman. In addition, Pröll was elected club boss. The party leader of the Greens, Alexander Van der Bellen, resigned from the party leadership on October 3, 2008, but will remain as a member of the National Council. Eva Glawischnig-Piesczek , who was also elected chairwoman of the parliamentary club, was designated as her successor . After the death of the BZÖ boss Jörg Haider, who died on October 11, 2008, Stefan Petzner was designated as the chairman of the alliance. At the end of November, he handed over his role as managing alliance chairman to Herbert Scheibner . Josef Bucher was elected club boss . The Liberal Forum drew conclusions from the failed election and elected Werner Becher as party leader.
Josef Pröll
Eva Glawischnig-Piesczek
Herbert Scheibner
Werner Becher
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Coalition negotiations
| Parties | Seats |
|---|---|
| Absolute majority (from 92 seats) | |
| SPÖ, ÖVP | 108 |
| ÖVP, FPÖ, BZÖ | 106 |
| Total seats | 183 |
Federal President Heinz Fischer awarded the top candidate of the first place party, Werner Faymann, the government contract on October 8, 2008. The latter then confirmed again that coalition negotiations would initially only be conducted with the Austrian People's Party and its designated party leader Josef Pröll.
The SPÖ saw the formation of a minority government as the only other possibility, but until the government was sworn in, only the Greens agreed to tolerate such a government. Mathematically, several government constellations would have been possible due to the distribution of mandates; in each of these, however, at least one of the parties excluded a coalition with at least one other. For example, there was the possibility of a center-right coalition between ÖVP, FPÖ and BZÖ, which was initially excluded by Josef Pröll and initially Heinz-Christian Strache. The media also speculated several times about a coalition between the SPÖ and the FPÖ, as they had already cooperated on legislative resolutions before the election in parliament. Faymann, however, still ruled out the formation of a government with the BZÖ and the FPÖ.
The board of the ÖVP spoke out on October 14, 2008 in favor of starting coalition negotiations with the SPÖ.
On November 16, 2008 Werner Faymann and Josef Pröll met for a one-on-one talk after a large round of negotiations between the SPÖ and ÖVP had previously been canceled. Pröll presented Faymann with a ten-point program of demands, the coalition negotiations were then suspended until Faymann answered the next day.
| Negotiation teams and topics | ||
|---|---|---|
| SPÖ | theme | ÖVP |
| Doris Bures | Jobs and location policy | Karlheinz head |
| Andreas Schieder | Foreign and European policy | Ursula Plassnik |
| Claudia Schmied | Education, culture and media | Johannes Hahn |
| Christoph Matznetter | Budget, Taxes and Sustainability | Wilhelm Molterer |
| Barbara Prammer | Society, opportunities politics and sport | Christine Marek |
| Norbert Darabos | Home affairs, justice and national defense | Maria Fekter |
| Hans Niessl | Efficient state | Herbert Sausgruber |
| Wilhelm Haberzettl | Social and health | Fritz Neugebauer |
Negotiation conclusion
On the evening of November 23, 2008, Werner Faymann and Josef Pröll announced that they had agreed on a new grand coalition with Werner Faymann as Federal Chancellor .
The division of departments between ÖVP and SPÖ changed little: the Ministry of Health came to the SPÖ, but the Ministry of Justice was awarded to the ÖVP. Unlike in Italy or Germany, the ministries for the interior and justice are headed by ministers from the same party. The previous Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik announced that she would leave the government. The reason she gave was differences on the question of whether future EU treaty changes should be decided by parliamentary channels or through referendums. As Chancellor Werner Faymann should not have a portfolio. There were some redistributions within the ministries: the labor area was returned to the social affairs department from the economics ministry , the sports area was transferred to the defense ministry. Compared to 2006 there are only four instead of six state secretaries.
The swearing-in of the first faymann government took place on 2 December of 2008.
Distribution of ministries and state secretariats
| SPÖ | ÖVP | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Department | responsible | Department | responsible |
| Chancellor | Werner Faymann | Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Finance | Josef Pröll |
| BM for health, family and youth |
Alois Stöger | BM for European and International Affairs |
Michael Spindelegger |
| BM for women's affairs and public service |
Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek | BM for interior | Maria Fekter |
| BM for social affairs and consumer protection |
Rudolf Hundstorfer | Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor | Reinhold Mitterlehner |
| BM for Transport, Innovation and Technology |
Doris Bures | BM for science and research |
Johannes Hahn |
| BM for teaching, art and culture |
Claudia Schmied | BM for Justice | Claudia Bandion-Ortner |
| Federal Ministry of Defense and Sports |
Norbert Darabos | BM for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management |
Nikolaus Berlakovich |
| State Secretariat in the Federal Chancellery |
Josef Ostermayer | State Secretariat in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor |
Christine Marek |
| State Secretariat in the Ministry of Finance |
Andreas Schieder | State Secretariat in the Ministry of Finance |
Reinhold Lopatka |
The Federal Ministry of Justice was led on an interim basis by Johannes Hahn until January 15, 2009, as the designated, non-party Claudia Bandion-Ortner, as a judge in the BAWAG trial, was still dealing with the written drafting of the judgment and was therefore not yet able to take up office. Claudia Bandion-Ortner was sworn in on January 15, 2009.
Work in the National Council
Due to the new constellation in the National Council, the opposition, consisting of the FPÖ, BZÖ and the Greens, has been given a stronger role. Since the SPÖ and ÖVP suffered massive losses after the National Council election, the two-thirds majority required for constitutional amendments was lost. The government had around 59% of the mandataries, the remaining 41% went to the opposition.
literature
- Thomas Hofer , Barbara Tóth (ed.): Election 2008. Strategies, winners, sensations . Molden , Vienna / Graz / Klagenfurt 2008, ISBN 978-3-85485-235-3 .
Web links
Wikinews: Reports on the 2008 National Council election - in the news- National Council election 2008
- Information page on the National Council election 2008 ( Memento from September 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Österreichischer Rundfunk
Individual evidence
- ↑ Suffrage in Austria, overview. Federal Ministry of the Interior, accessed on September 24, 2013 .
- ↑ Election calendar. (PDF; 3.3 MB) Federal Ministry of the Interior, accessed on September 23, 2013 .
- ↑ Federal Ministry of the Interior: Austria, final result (including all voting card results) ( Memento of March 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), (accessed on October 17, 2008)
- ↑ Thomas Hofer , Barbara Tóth (ed.): Election 2008. Strategies, victors, sensations . Molden , Vienna / Graz / Klagenfurt 2008, ISBN 978-3-85485-235-3 , p. 182-185 .
- ↑ Voter flow analysis Austria NRW06 – NRW08. (PDF; 1.2 MB) SORA, accessed on September 13, 2013 .
- ↑ Rejection to “Gusi Hunder”. Austria , February 8, 2008, accessed July 13, 2008 .
- ^ Tax reform: dispute over leadership of the reform commission. Die Presse , March 6, 2008, accessed on July 13, 2008 ( Austria Press Agency ).
- ↑ Election: SPÖ wants clarity from ÖVP. In: The press. March 16, 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2008 .
- ↑ diepresse.com
- ↑ Molterer pulls the rip cord: "It's enough" . Kleine Zeitung July 8, 2008; Retrieved August 11, 2008
- ^ ÖVP: Declaration by Federal Party Chairman and Vice Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer on July 7, 2008 ( Memento from September 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ FSG competes with Haberzettl. In: news.orf.at. July 14, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2008 .
- ↑ a b ÖVP countries skimp . In: Salzburger Nachrichten . August 22, 2008.
- ^ Election program ( memento of September 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) of the SPÖ (PDF)
- ↑ a b c Van der Bellen: Desire for black and green "very big". ORF, July 18, 2008, accessed on July 19, 2008 .
- ↑ The half-hearted offensive . In: Salzburger Nachrichten . August 28, 2008.
- ^ Vienna VP against smiling Faymann. Der Standard, August 6, 2008, accessed August 10, 2008 .
- ↑ The People's Party is moving. Wiener Zeitung, September 1, 2008, accessed on September 13, 2013 .
- ↑ Greens want to provide Vice Chancellors. Die Presse, July 7, 2008, accessed on July 8, 2008 (Austria Press Agency).
- ↑ Pilz on ÖVP: "Greens are not ready to flirt". Die Presse, July 18, 2008, accessed on July 19, 2008 (Austria Press Agency).
- ↑ Peter Pilz: Controversial data queries on the Zogaj case. July 15, 2008, accessed September 13, 2013 .
- ^ Election program 2008 (PDF; 881 kB) The Greens; Retrieved September 13, 2013
- ↑ Reactions: Opposition welcomes new elections. (No longer available online.) Curier, July 8, 2008, archived from the original on July 8, 2008 ; accessed on July 8, 2008 (Austria Press Agency).
- ↑ Strache does not want to form a coalition with Faymann or Molterer. Der Standard, July 18, 2008, accessed on July 19, 2008 (Austria Presse Agentur).
- ↑ FPÖ wants to keep "the same distance" to SPÖ and ÖVP. Der Standard, July 18, 2008, accessed on July 20, 2008 (Austria Presse Agentur).
- ↑ Election campaigns cost a fortune. (No longer available online.) Courier, July 11, 2008, archived from the original on July 12, 2008 ; accessed on August 27, 2008 (Austria Press Agency).
- ↑ Freedom present their election program: Strache wants relief of 6.5 billion , Vorarlberg Online. September 4, 2008
- ^ BZÖ: Hard notes, even without a top candidate. Alliance Future Austria, July 29, 2008, accessed on September 13, 2013 .
- ^ Nine months conditionally for BZÖ chairman Westenthaler. In: DiePresse.com . July 30, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2018 .
- ^ BZÖ: Haider designated as federal party leader. Der Standard, August 8, 2008, accessed September 13, 2013 .
- ↑ BZÖ with the self-made brand ( Memento from September 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Article in the Austrian daily newspaper from August 14, 2008.
- ↑ Haider wants "special accommodation" for asylum seekers. Die Presse, July 28, 2008, accessed August 11, 2008 .
- ^ Martin Fritzl: The fight of the parties against inflation. In: The press. July 11, 2008, accessed July 13, 2008 .
- ↑ Cheap petrol stations depress petrol prices. ORF, April 22, 2006, accessed on September 1, 2008 .
- ↑ Gernot Bauer , Rosemarie Schwaiger: Governor Haider in a profile interview. profile , accessed September 1, 2008 .
- ↑ a b c Ten parties compete. Der Standard, August 22, 2008, accessed August 23, 2008 .
- ↑ a b Of millionaires, monopolies and a "dirty" society , article in the Salzburger Nachrichten of September 17, 2008
- ^ Immediate program of the KPÖ ( Memento from September 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Heide Schmidt returns as LIF's top candidate. Der Standard, July 25, 2008, accessed July 28, 2008 .
- ↑ Article on oe24.at
- ↑ Haselsteiner on board again. news.orf.at, July 25, 2008, accessed on July 29, 2008 .
- ^ The Liberals run for the National Council election , accessed on August 21, 2008
- ^ Heide Schmidt: Greens as a "natural partner" for a three-party coalition. In: derStandard.at . September 3, 2008, accessed March 25, 2018 .
- ^ "Save Austria" list runs for elections . Vienna Online
- ↑ National Council election 2008; the candidate parties. Federal Ministry of the Interior , September 18, 2008, accessed on September 13, 2013 .
- ↑ Lit. Hofer, Toth: Wahl 2008 . S. 175-181 .
- ↑ Hofer, Toth: Wahl 2008 . S. 19-21 .
- ↑ Hofer, Toth: Wahl 2008 . S. 16 .
- ↑ a b Hofer, Toth: Wahl 2008 .
- ↑ Hofer, Toth: Wahl 2008 . S. 14 .
- ↑ Hofer, Toth: Wahl 2008 . S. 25-26 .
- ↑ Hofer, Toth: Wahl 2008 . S. 79 .
- ↑ Hofer, Toth: Wahl 2008 . S. 103-116 .
- ^ Election manifesto of the Social Democratic Party of Austria National Council election 2008. (PDF; 335 kB) Social Democratic Party of Austria, accessed on September 13, 2013 .
- ^ The Greens - The Green Alternative: Election Program 2008. (PDF) Retrieved on September 13, 2013 .
- ↑ See election programs ÖVP, FPÖ and BZÖ
- ↑ Up to 915,000 viewers saw the ORF TV confrontation Strache - Haider. Der Standard, August 24, 2008, accessed on September 16, 2008 (Austria Presse Agentur).
- ↑ Alexander Krei: Election duels: Haider & Co. bring top odds. Quotemeter.de, September 5, 2008, accessed on September 16, 2008 .
- ↑ a b c d e Pair skating to choose from . In: Salzburger Nachrichten . September 8, 2008.
- ↑ a b c election campaign on ORF, on ATV and Puls 4. Der Standard, August 15, 2008, accessed on September 16, 2008 (Austria Press Agency).
- ^ Nicholas Kulish: Far-Right, Anti-Immigrant Parties Make Gains in Austrian Elections. The New York Times , September 29, 2008, accessed October 27, 2008 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s quoted from: This is how the world sees the election in Austria. Upper Austrian News , September 30, 2008, p. 6
- ↑ La extrema derecha resurge en Austria. El País , September 29, 2008, accessed October 26, 2008 (Spanish).
- ↑ profile , No. 41, October 6, 2008
- ↑ National Council election: Memorandum for the government, no shift to the right. In: The press. October 23, 2008, accessed October 26, 2008 .
- ↑ Motives for election: Protest and top candidates. In: The press. September 29, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2008 .
- ↑ profile , No. 40, September 29, 2008
- ^ Claudia Dannhaus: ÖVP: Molterer resigns, Pröll new party leader. Die Presse, September 29, 2008, accessed October 8, 2008 .
- ↑ Alexander Van der Bellen resigns - Eva Glawischnig follows. Der Standard, October 3, 2008, accessed October 8, 2008 .
- ↑ Faymann wants to start talks immediately. news.orf.at, October 8, 2008, accessed on September 13, 2013 .
- ↑ Zeit im Bild on September 7, 2008 in an interview
- ^ Pröll waves aside: Coalition with FPÖ and BZÖ "not very likely". (No longer available online.) Kleine Zeitung , October 10, 2008, archived from the original on June 19, 2013 .
- ↑ Faymann: SPÖ will not give up stance - no coalition with FPÖ or BZÖ. APA-OTS on behalf of the SPÖ, October 19, 2008, accessed on October 27, 2008 .
- ↑ ÖVP votes for coalition negotiations with the SPÖ . Die Presse , October 14, 2008; Retrieved October 14, 2008.
- ^ Coalition negotiations on hold for the time being. Die Presse, November 16, 2008, accessed on November 16, 2008 (Austria Press Agency).
- ↑ SPÖ and ÖVP agree on a grand coalition in Austria - Werner Faymann becomes the new Federal Chancellor . Neue Zürcher Zeitung , November 23, 2008
- ↑ In detail: The allocation of departments . Der Standard , November 23, 2008
- ↑ could not follow EU line . The press , November 23, 2008
- ↑ From judge to minister. In: news.orf.at. December 23, 2010, accessed October 26, 2019 .
