Municipal council election in Graz 2008
The Graz municipal council election 2008 took place on January 20th , 2008. At the same time as the municipal council elections in Graz, the district representatives and the migrant advisory board were elected. In the municipal council elections, the ÖVP emerged as the clear winner, while the heavy losses suffered by the SPÖ led to the resignation of vice mayor and party chairman Walter Ferk . In addition to the SPÖ, the KPÖ also recorded heavy losses. It fell behind the Greens , who posted the biggest gains. The FPÖ fell short of expectations, the BZÖ moved into the local council for the first time. In the election of the district councils, the SPÖ suffered heavy losses as in the municipal council elections. It lost its district chairman in four out of six districts and was only able to maintain those in the districts of Lend and Wetzelsdorf . The ÖVP secured the district leaders in all other fifteen districts.
The Graz municipal council election campaign attracted Europe-wide attention after controversial statements by the FPÖ top candidate Susanne Winter , who described Islam as a “ totalitarian system of rule” that must be thrown back to “where it came from, behind the Mediterranean ”. She also referred to the Prophet Mohammed as a “general” who wrote the Koran “in epileptic fits”.
requirements
Starting position
In the municipal council elections in 2003, the ÖVP emerged as the big winner. She had overtaken the FPÖ and SPÖ and won the post of mayor with 36.1 percent of the vote and won two city councilors. After the departure of long-term mayor Alfred Stingl, the SPÖ had to accept a loss of 5 percent of the vote and only got 25.9 percent. In addition to her claim to the mayor, she also lost a city council. The FPÖ suffered even greater losses, losing almost 19 percent of the vote and losing three quarters of its mandates and all three city councilors with 8.0 percent. The KPÖ, in particular, benefited from the losses, more than doubling its share of the vote to 20.8 percent under the popular city councilor Ernest Kaltenegger and winning two city councilors. The Greens, who entered the Graz Alternative List in 1998 , won easily and achieved 8.3 percent. Graz was subsequently ruled by an ÖVP-SPÖ coalition.
Suffrage
In the 2008 district council and municipal council elections in Graz, all persons who had their main residence in Graz on the cut-off date (November 9, 2007), were citizens of an EU country and were 16 on election day were actively eligible to vote. The City of Graz automatically recorded all eligible voters in a register of voters. The persons recorded were published in the form of a "home announcement" at the main residences by posting.
According to the municipal electoral code, all citizens of the member states of the European Union who are actively entitled to vote themselves, who have reached the age of 19 before January 1st of the election year and who have not lost the right to stand as a candidate in their home country, can exercise the right to stand.
At the same time, the elections for the migrant advisory board were held. The same criteria applied, but only people who were citizens of a non-EU country were eligible to vote.
Ballot
Those eligible to vote were able to cast their votes around a week before the actual election day. On Friday, January 11th, between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m., the 17 district offices as well as service points and the town hall were open for voting. On presentation of an official photo ID, the polling station could be chosen freely. 6,069 eligible voters took advantage of the opportunity to vote earlier. Their votes were kept under lock and key until the election day and on the actual election day, January 20th, after the election deadline, they were counted together with the votes cast. On the actual election day, the polling stations were open between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The option of early voting was originally introduced in place of the postal vote, which was decided in 2007. In the Graz municipal council elections, however, it was possible for the first time to vote by voting card at home and abroad. 5,135 voting cards were issued in the run-up to January 20th, which could be handed in by postal voting or during a home visit by the electoral authority. The votes cast by postal vote had to reach the city electoral authority by January 23, 2:00 p.m., together with an affidavit, in order to be considered valid votes. Ultimately, 3,139 votes cast by postal vote were counted by the city electoral authority.
Votes were cast with one ballot paper each for the election to the municipal council and for the election to the district council. On the ballot papers, voters could also give a candidate from the elected party a preferred vote , with the eligible candidates being posted in the voting booth.
Election campaign
Campaign spending
According to the campaigning parties and other information, around 2.6 million euros were spent in the election campaign for the 2008 municipal council elections. Compared to 2003, this meant a decrease of 400,000 euros. At around one million euros, the ÖVP used the highest funds. The SPÖ spent 600,000 euros in the election campaign, with around 150,000 euros saved compared to 2003. According to the Grazer Woche , the FPÖ spent EUR 350,000 on loans for the election campaign, after having had the 2003 election campaign cost EUR 600,000. The Greens put up around 150,000 euros for their campaign budget, 50,000 euros less than in 2003. The Graz KPÖ invested around 280,000 euros in the 2007/08 election campaign and thus spent 30,000 euros more than planned and was able to campaign after entering the state parliament but with own funds. The BZÖ, previously not represented in the local council, spent around 300,000 euros on the election campaign. According to its own statements, the BZÖ financed its election campaign from donations and solidarity contributions from the officials. One advertising expert, however, judged the information provided by the parties to be an understatement and considered it possible for the larger parties to spend twice or three times as much as the information provided by themselves.
Survey
According to a survey by the opinion research institute OGM for the Kleine Zeitung in October 2007, the ÖVP was at around 33 percent at the beginning of the election campaign, well below its 2003 election result. The SPÖ, on the other hand, was able to increase slightly to 28 percent, while the KPÖ after the change from Ernest Kaltenegger in the state parliament suffered heavy losses and slipped to 15 percent. The Greens were only able to grow slightly to 9 percent and were overtaken by the FPÖ with 13 percent in the survey. The BZÖ only achieved 2 percent.
In January 2008, the Kleine Zeitung again published an OGM survey, according to which the ÖVP fell further to 32 percent. The SPÖ stagnated at 28 percent, the KPÖ fell significantly to 13 percent, while the Greens caught up to 11 percent and the FPÖ remained at 13 percent. The BZÖ was forecast to be 3 percent. On January 10, 2008, the courier published a survey by the polling institute Integral based on 507 respondents. This survey predicted the ÖVP with only minor losses of 35 percent and saw the SPÖ with 26 percent on the result of 2003. According to the survey, the KPÖ would crash to 12 percent and be overtaken by the Greens. The FPÖ was 11 percent in the survey, the BZÖ 3 percent.
Election campaign barometer
The city of Graz, which, according to its self-definition, calls itself the “City of Human Rights”, had already announced the “Graz Declaration of Human Rights” in 2001 by means of a municipal council resolution. In the spirit of this publication and the accession to the “European Coalition of Cities against Racism”, which took place in June 2006 by a local council resolution, the city of Graz launched the so-called campaign barometer for the Graz council elections. Between June 2007 and January 2008, the Human Rights Advisory Council of the City of Graz, publisher of the election campaign barometer, assessed the campaign behavior of the campaigning parties and the election campaign as a whole. To this end, the Human Rights Advisory Board, which is made up of 25 people from politics, authorities and civil institutions nominated by Mayor Siegfried Nagl, evaluated election campaign materials and statements by politicians and awarded red, yellow and green traffic lights as an evaluation.
During the three observation periods until January 10, 2008, the election campaign was marked with a green traffic light. However, this assessment was only made because the ÖVP, SPÖ, KPÖ and Greens clearly distinguished themselves from the election campaigns of the FPÖ and the BZÖ. The election campaign of the FPÖ and the BZÖ was judged with a red light several times, among other things because the election campaign of the FPÖ was classified as a "smear campaign" and the BZÖ acted as a whole "populist xenophobic". In the final phase of the election campaign, the Human Rights Advisory Council changed its assessment of the election campaign to “yellow” after the FPÖ's top candidate about Islam. In addition to a red light for the anti-Islamic statements made by the FPÖ, the Human Rights Advisory Council assessed the clear demarcation between ÖVP, SPÖ, KPÖ and Greens as positive and refrained from evaluating the overall situation with a red light.
Campaigning parties (official list name)
List 1, Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ)
The Social Democratic Party of Austria lost the mayor to the ÖVP after Mayor Alfred Stingl withdrew before the 2003 elections. After 2003, the SPÖ also competed in 2008 with its vice-mayor Walter Ferk, who was not undisputed within the party .
The SPÖ in Graz presented its program for the municipal council period from 2008 to 2013 to the public on December 4, 2007, under the slogan "Let's make Graz the number 1 social city in Austria". The main concerns of the Graz SPÖ were the fight against poverty, the promotion of social housing, making Graz more attractive as a business location and increasing the number of jobs. Further concerns were measures for apprenticeship training and employment of women, budget restructuring and an improvement in public transport.
List 2, Austrian People's Party - Mayor Nagl (ÖVP)
Under Siegfried Nagl , the Austrian People's Party surprisingly replaced the SPÖ as the strongest party in 2003. In the 2008 election campaign, the ÖVP worked heavily with Mayor Nagl's official bonus. In its election manifesto, the ÖVP focused on the topics of “opportunities for the future”, quality of life, family, security and generations. Similar to the FPÖ and BZÖ, the ÖVP also advocated a ban on begging in Graz.
In the polls in January 2008, the ÖVP was slightly below its 2003 result. In the event of his re-election, Mayor Nagl spoke out in favor of a coalition with the Graz Greens, as the SPÖ and KPÖ would have excluded themselves, the FPÖ would be “unimaginable” and the BZÖ could not contribute much to a stable coalition.
List 3, Communist Party Austria - Elke Kahr (KPÖ)
In 2003, the Communist Party of Austria , headed by the City Councilor for Housing Ernest Kaltenegger, gained around 13 percent of the vote and thus achieved 20.8 percent of the vote. After Kaltenegger moved to the Styrian state parliament, Elke Kahr was appointed as his successor. She continued Kaltenegger's social work as a councilor for housing and, like him, donated part of her city council salary to people in need. As a top candidate, however, according to the polls, she could not match the popularity of her predecessor. While the KPÖ Graz was still 15 percent in October 2007, in the polls in January 2008 it fell to 12 to 13 percent and therefore would have had to fight for third place with the Greens and the FPÖ.
Under the unfavorable starting position, Elke Kahr set holding the third position as an election campaign goal. In her election campaign she positioned the KPÖ as the social conscience of Graz and spoke out against political privileges, post hacking and the sale of municipal property. Furthermore, the KPÖ advocated the purchase of land and the construction of community apartments.
List 4, The Greens - Alternative List Graz (GREEN)
The Greens ran in the 2008 municipal council elections with the previously largely unknown top candidate Lisa (Elisabeth) Rücker. In the election campaign, the Greens addressed the issue of particulate matter and climate protection in particular and focused on restricting car traffic and promoting non-motorized private transport. A second important topic in the election campaign was advocating a sustainable and systematic integration policy. At the same time, the Greens clearly distinguished themselves from the election campaigns of the FPÖ and BZÖ, which were classified as xenophobic.
During the election campaign, ÖVP Mayor Nagl advocated a coalition with the Greens. While the Green Federal Spokesman Alexander Van der Bellen spoke out in favor of a coalition with the ÖVP, the Grazer Greens reacted “skeptically, but not entirely negatively” to Nagl's statements. After the Greens from Graz were sent out, a coalition would only be possible if the ÖVP would say goodbye to its previous policy and act differently, especially in socio-political areas.
List 5, Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ)
The Freedom Party of Austria had lost around 19 percentage points in the 2003 elections and left the city government. After the separation of the BZÖ, the district spokeswoman Susanne Winter was brought in 2006 by state party leader Gerhard Kurzmann as city party leader . During the winter, the Graz FPÖ positioned itself as a “social home party”, with the FPÖ betting on a classic “foreigner election campaign”. The main themes were the fight against “organized begging” by the Slovak Roma in Graz and the “fight against Islam”. For example, the FPÖ demanded a comprehensive ban on begging and mosques for Graz. In addition, the FPÖ demanded the allocation of communal apartments only to citizens and increased intervention against "asylum abuse". In addition, the FPÖ addressed the fight against poverty, criticized the lack of jobs and opposed price increases in tariffs for public transport and increases in water, garbage, funeral and sewer fees.
For its election campaign the FPÖ was judged several times by the Graz Human Rights Advisory Board with a “red light”. Among other things, the “outrageous ideologization and terrifying hatred of all those who think differently, those of different faiths, immigrants” was condemned and “massive attacks on the human dignity of non-white citizens and against Muslims” were noted. In her speech at the New Year's meeting of the FPÖ in Graz, Winter also described the prophet Mohammed as a “ child molester ” who wrote the Koran in “epileptic fits”. Winter's speech, which drew sharp criticism from all political and social camps throughout Austria, was seen as a targeted provocation in the final phase of the election campaign, in particular to marginalize the BZÖ in Graz. ÖVP, SPÖ, KPÖ and Greens had previously emphasized that they did not want to work with the FPÖ in the local council after the election.
The top candidate Susanne Winter named "ten percent plus X, and the X as large as possible" as the election target. An OGM survey attested the FPÖ in October 2007 as well as in January 2008 13 percent of the votes and thus strong profits. An integral survey in January 2008 saw the FPÖ at 11 percent.
List 6, BZÖ - We clean Graz (BZÖ)
The BZÖ competed in the municipal council elections with the top candidate Gerald Grosz . Grosz converted from the FPÖ to the BZÖ in 2005 and became the chairman of the BZÖ in Styria. In 2007 he was elected as the top candidate of the BZÖ Graz. Since there had been no municipal council elections in Graz since the foundation of the BZÖ, the BZÖ fought for the first entry into the municipal council. The polls predicted the BZÖ in the run-up to election day a result between 2 and 3 percent of the votes.
In its election campaign, the BZÖ focused on issues similar to those of the FPÖ, with the election slogan “We clean Graz”. In a first series of posters, the BZÖ postulated the fight against “organized beggar crime” and the fight against “drug dealers”. Furthermore, the BZÖ wanted to “clean up” Graz of “social parasites”, “criminal asylum gangs”, “felt privileges”, price increases, “debt-making”, unemployment and fine dust .
The election campaign style of the BZÖ was repeatedly judged by the Human Rights Advisory Board of the City of Graz with a “red light”. For example, the integration, security and social policy of the BZÖ was condemned for “persistent and emphatic discrimination and racist harassment of people of other cultural, national or ethnic origins and because of the color of their skin”.
Other parties
In addition to the established parties, four other lists competed in the Graz municipal council elections in 2008. In seventh place on the list, the former tenant of the Graz Schlossberg restaurant, Erich Wegscheidler, ran under the name "Wegscheidler". In Graz he posted the slogan "Redistribute wealth, not poverty". Behind it, the Austrian Motorists and Citizens' Interest Party (ÖAPB) ran with its top candidate Baldur Platzer. The ÖAPB advocated the abolition of the “green zones” (managed parking space, especially for commuters) and the reduction of the “blue zones” (short-term parking zones). The ÖAPB won two seats in the municipal council in 1993 and one in 1998. In ninth place on the electoral list, the artist Peter Pailer campaigned for votes with the name list Peter Pailer (SALZ). Pailer, who had no program, appeared actionist during the election campaign and, according to his own statements, wanted to be the salt in the ÖVP / SPÖ-dominated municipal council. Finally, the student center party Austria (ZPA) ranked tenth on the list.
Election result
Local council election
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198,020 people were eligible to vote in the Graz municipal council elections. Only 114,654 people exercised their right to vote, which means that the turnout of 57.90 percent was slightly below that of 2003 (58.37 percent). As in 2003, the ÖVP emerged as the winner of the elections. It received 38.4 percent of the votes and, contrary to the slightly negative poll numbers, increased by 2.3 percent of the votes and from 21 to 23 mandates. As in 2003, the SPÖ reached second place, but again lost massive votes, although the polls had predicted gains. The final result of 19.7 percent meant the worst result of the SPÖ Graz in its history. With a decrease of 6.2 percent of the vote, the SPÖ lost four of its fifteen seats and one of three city councilors. The KPÖ also suffered heavy losses after Ernest Kaltenegger's departure. It lost 11.2 percent of the vote and lost almost half of its votes. In addition, the KPÖ's number of seats decreased from twelve to six seats and it lost one of two city councilors. The Greens recorded the highest increase in votes, growing from 8.3 percent to 14.6 percent of the vote. They overtook the KPÖ and doubled their number of seats to eight. In addition, the Greens won the right to a city council for the first time. The FPÖ won the elections with 2.9 percent less than forecast and achieved 10.9 percent of the vote. It increased from four to six seats and again achieved a seat on the city council. Contrary to the polls, the BZÖ made it into the municipal council and received two mandates with 4.3 percent.
The election winner ÖVP was able to achieve a relative majority in the municipal elections in sixteen of the seventeen districts and replaced the SPÖ as the strongest party in the districts of Gries , Liebenau and Wetzelsdorf . The ÖVP achieved its best election results in the districts of Mariatrost (51.01 percent) and Waltendorf (48.31 percent). The ÖVP recorded the strongest gains in the districts of Liebenau and Innere Stadt with 4.36 percent and 3.56 percent respectively, and losses in Puntigam (–1.27 percent) and Gries (–0.84 percent). The SPÖ was only able to defend a relative majority in the municipal council elections in the Lend district , where it achieved its best district result with 27.84 percent. The SPÖ achieved the worst result in the ÖVP stronghold of Mariatrost with 9.76 percent, the party suffered the greatest losses in the Puntigam district (-9.49 percent). The Greens achieved their best results in the districts of St. Leonhard, Geidorf and St. Peter, where they each achieved more than 20 percent. The Greens in the southwest of the city (Puntigam, Wetzelsdorf and Straßgang ) achieved the weakest results with less than 10 percent of the vote. The KPÖ achieved their best result with around 14 percent of the votes each in the districts of Inner City, Gries and Jakomini , FPÖ and BZÖ achieved their highest share of the vote in the Puntigam district (17.08 percent and 6.97 percent, respectively).
| Political party | Results 2008 | Results 2003 | Differences | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| be right | % | Mand. | be right | % | Mand. | % | Mand. | |
| total | 114,654 | 109,335 | ||||||
| Invalid | 1,879 | 1,279 | ||||||
| Valid | 112,775 | 108.056 | ||||||
| SPÖ | 22,266 | 19.74% | 11 | 27,975 | 25.89% | 15th | -6.15% | -4 |
| ÖVP | 43,274 | 38.37% | 23 | 39,029 | 36.12% | 21st | 2.25% | 2 |
| KPÖ | 12,611 | 11.18% | 6th | 22,425 | 20.75% | 12 | -9.57% | –6 |
| GREEN | 16,416 | 14.56% | 8th | 8,930 | 8.26% | 4th | 6.30% | 4th |
| FPÖ | 12,235 | 10.85% | 6th | 8,626 | 7.98% | 4th | 2.87% | 2 |
| BZÖ | 4,857 | 4.31% | 2 | nk | ||||
| Wegscheidler | 231 | 0.20% | 0 | nk | ||||
| ÖABP | 556 | 0.49% | 0 | nk | ||||
| SALT | 218 | 0.19% | 0 | nk | ||||
| ZPA | 111 | 0.10% | 0 | nk | ||||
District representative election
In the district representative election, the SPÖ lost its supremacy in several districts. She lost the district head in the districts of Gries , Liebenau , Eggenberg and Straßgang . The SPÖ was only able to hold a relative majority in Lend , where it continues to provide the district head. In addition, the SPÖ provides the district chairman in Wetzelsdorf who was elected by an ÖVP district council. In total, the SPÖ lost 11 of its 50 district council seats. The ÖVP, in particular, benefited from the SPÖ's losses, gaining all the district leaders whom the SPÖ had lost. The ÖVP also won eight district council mandates and, with 75 district councilors, represents around 45 percent of all district councilors in Graz. The Greens increased from 16 to 23 seats, the FPÖ from 7 to 13 seats.
| district | SPÖ | ÖVP | KPÖ | GREEN | FPÖ | BZÖ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I. | 12.72% | 42.59% | 14.20% | 20.90% | 9.59% | nk |
| II. | 12.33% | 43.38% | 12.27% | 24.74% | 7.28% | nk |
| III. | 14.32% | 43.79% | 10.48% | 23.01% | 8.39% | nk |
| IV. | 29.48% | 28.93% | 13.16% | 14.06% | 14.37% | nk |
| V. | 26.97% | 28.43% | 16.19% | 13.02% | 15.38% | nk |
| VI. | 22.76% | 33.82% | 14.55% | 17.24% | 11.63% | nk |
| VII. | 29.45% | 39.53% | 9.26% | 7.92% | 13.84% | nk |
| VIII. | 15.13% | 47.59% | 8.25% | 20.91% | 8.13% | nk |
| IX. | 17.12% | 47.88% | 8.59% | 17.69% | 8.71% | nk |
| X. | 15.92% | 47.87% | 8.14% | 18.82% | 9.24% | nk |
| XI. | 9.55% | 54.13% | 8.08% | 20.36% | 7.88% | nk |
| XII. | 20.83% | 45.05% | 8.49% | 16.57% | 9.06% | nk |
| XIII. | 25.43% | 36.63% | 9.63% | 10.62% | 11.81% | 5.88% |
| XIV. | 25.72% | 35.70% | 10.62% | 13.15% | 14.81% | nk |
| XV. | 30.77% | 34.66% | 10.53% | 8.66% | 15.38% | nk |
| XVI. | 29.84% | 37.76% | 9.27% | 8.83% | 14.31% | nk |
| XVII. | 28.95% | 35.47% | 9.12% | 8.62% | 17.85% | nk |
| total | 21.88% | 39.40% | 10.96% | 16.02% | 11.51% | 0.23% |
| district | SPÖ | ÖVP | KPÖ | GREEN | FPÖ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I. | 1 | 4th | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| II. | 1 | 4th | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| III. | 2 | 6th | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| IV. | 5 | 4th | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| V. | 4th | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| VI. | 4th | 6th | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| VII. | 3 | 4th | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| VIII. | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| IX. | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| X. | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| XI. | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| XII. | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| XIII. | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| XIV. | 3 | 4th | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| XV. | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| XVI. | 3 | 4th | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| XVII. | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| total | 39 | 75 | 13 | 23 | 15th |
Preferential votes
In 2008, a total of 18,805 preferential votes were given for the candidates in the Graz municipal council and district council elections. Candidates from the ÖVP received 11,775 votes (62.6 percent), the SPÖ 2,365 votes (12.6 percent), the Greens 1,695 votes (9.0 percent), the KPÖ 1,077 votes (5.7 percent), the FPÖ 1,235 Votes (6.6 percent) and the BZÖ 639 votes (3.4 percent). The incumbent mayor Siegfried Nagl received the highest number of preferential votes , followed by the top candidates of the smaller parties, Susanne Winter (FPÖ), Lisa Rücker (GREEN) and Elke Kahr (KPÖ). Deputy Mayor Walter Ferk (SPÖ) only came in sixth place in the preference votes. The high participation of ÖVP voters in the allocation of preferential votes was due to the preferential voting model introduced by the ÖVP. For reasons of tactical mobilization, only the members of the government were guaranteed a fixed mandate. All other councilors had to secure their place on the list by preferential votes. The high number of preferential votes cast for the members of the ÖVP led to eight forward or backward ranking. The health, finance and social spokesman for the ÖVP club and the press spokesman for the mayor, Thomas Rajakovics, fell by the wayside. Since four of the eight women who were back in line were women, the women's quota in the ÖVP club deteriorated sharply to 4:23. An identical preferred vote model was introduced by the BZÖ. The effect of this was that Georg Schröck moved into the local council instead of Brigitte Fischer, who was second on the list.
| space | Political party | Surname | be right |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | ÖVP | Siegfried Nagl | 2431 |
| 2. | FPÖ | Susanne Winter | 899 |
| 3. | GREEN | Elisabeth Rücker | 880 |
| 4th | KPÖ | Elke Kahr | 841 |
| 5. | ÖVP | Kurt Hohensinner | 836 |
| 6th | SPÖ | Walter Ferk | 798 |
| 7th | SPÖ | Soleiman Ali | 658 |
| 8th. | ÖVP | Bernhard Hofmann-Wellenhof | 551 |
| 9. | ÖVP | Gerda Gesek | 402 |
| 10. | BZÖ | Gerald Grosz | 386 |
Migrants Advisory Board
In 2008, 19,007 people were eligible to vote in the elections to the Migrant Advisory Board. 2,126 people entitled to vote exercised their right to vote, which corresponds to a turnout of 11.2 percent. In 2003, the turnout for the Foreigners' Council was 14.3 percent. In the 2008 elections, the votes cast were distributed as follows:
| list | be right | percent | Mandates |
|---|---|---|---|
| total | 2126 | ||
| Invalid | 32 | ||
| Valid | 2094 | ||
| General Albanian List | 142 | 6.8% | 0 |
| General Croatian European List | 394 | 18.8% | 2 |
| Serbian list | 74 | 3.5% | 0 |
| African list | 269 | 12.8% | 1 |
| Muslim diversity | 561 | 26.8% | 3 |
| Kurdish list for democracy | 442 | 21.1% | 3 |
| List of intercultural women | 102 | 4.9% | 0 |
| Christian list | 110 | 5.3% | 0 |
Reception of the election result
The Graz election results were analyzed in detail in the Austrian press. The focus of the comments was the performance of the FPÖ due to the controversial statements by Susanne Winter. Due to the lower than expected increase in votes, the result of the FPÖ was interpreted as a “turnaround”, but especially as a “disappointment” for the FPÖ, as it was far from being able to exhaust its potential. The FPÖ reached around 27 percent in Graz in 1998 and was significantly higher in the polls. The " Kurier " concluded from the result that the " anti-Islamic statements [of the FPÖ] had done more harm than good ", and that the FPÖ top candidates from Lower Austria and Tyrol would be more reluctant to criticize Islam in the subsequent state elections.
The BZÖ, which was able to position itself as a less radical “right-wing conservative alternative”, benefited from the lower election success of the FPÖ. In addition, the BZÖ benefited from the lack of an entry limit (e.g. four or five percent), which could have deterred potential voters. The Greens also benefited from the anti-Islamic statements of the FPÖ, who were able to mobilize their voters through their clear demarcation from the FPÖ and scored points with the topic of “fine dust”.
In addition to the election victory of the Greens, the performance of the ÖVP under Mayor Nagl was seen as a success, with Nagl benefiting from his “foreign-critical” but not aggressive campaign style. Therefore, after the election, ÖVP electoral strategists said they would also focus on the issue of foreigners and security in the state elections in Lower Austria and Tyrol. Overall, the outcome of the election was not confirmed to have any national political effects, as the SPÖ's poor performance was due to structural and personnel problems of the SPÖ.
Effects
After the severe defeat of the SPÖ, Deputy Mayor Walter Ferk resigned from his office on election day. On the Monday after the election, Wolfgang Riedler was elected by the board and presidium as the executive party chairman of the Graz SPÖ.
Mayor Siegfried Nagl announced after the election that he would negotiate a coalition with the SPÖ and the Greens. Both parties indicated willingness to talk. Since the ÖVP was negotiating in parallel with the SPÖ and the Greens, the SPÖ broke off coalition negotiations on February 6, as it did not want to be available for such parallel negotiations. Rather, in the opinion of the SPÖ, the ÖVP should have sat down at a negotiating table with both parties in order to agree on a three-party coalition. The ÖVP subsequently continued coalition negotiations with the Greens and negotiated a coalition agreement by early March . The approval of the party committees took place on March 3rd (ÖVP unanimously, Greens with 26 to 4 votes).
In terms of content, the coalition agreement focuses on the expansion of childcare, the promotion of integration, the promotion of gentle mobility (walking, cycling and public transport) and there is no ban on begging. Compliance with the coalition agreement is monitored by the coalition committee. In the event of disagreement, after the topic has been dealt with twice in the coalition committee, a resolution can also be sought in a coalition-free area. While the ÖVP took over the human resources, integration, economy, disaster control, finance, real estate, sport, youth, education, kindergartens and urban development departments, Rücker, as a city councilor, was given responsibility for the environment and the areas of business and transport. The SPÖ was assigned the departments of culture, health, social affairs and women, the KPÖ received the housing department as before. The departments of geriatrics and citizens' offices were left to FPÖ councilor Winter.
literature
- Franz Schausberger : New ways in the old environment. Municipal council election in Graz 2008 . Institute of the Regions of Europe Short Studies 6/2009. Salzburg, ISBN 978-3-902557-06-3
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Graz overall - final result ( memento of the original from January 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. City of Graz - Department for Information Management
- ↑ Graz Online ( Memento of the original from January 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Who is eligible to vote? , Graz Online ( Memento of the original from January 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Who is eligible to vote? (Migrants Advisory Board)
- ↑ European Commission ( Memento of the original dated February 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The active and passive right to vote in local elections in Styria , accessed on January 14, 2008
- ↑ Die Presse Online “Democracy: The mail is really going in Graz”, 14 January 2008
- ↑ Kleine Zeitung Online ( Memento of March 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) 5,135 voting cards were issued ; January 18, 2008
- ↑ a b Kleine Zeitung Online Voters Knowledge: Municipal Council Election 2008
- ↑ Kleine Zeitung Online: Final result of the Graz election: Hardly any changes ( memento of February 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ); January 23, 2008
- ↑ The standard online election campaign issues a little lower ; January 14, 2008
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↑ a b c d e Kleine Zeitung Online ( Memento from March 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Graz municipal council election 2008: ÖVP weak, SPÖ stable, Greens gain ; January 5, 2008
Kurier Online ( Memento of February 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Graz remains black - ↑ Graz election campaign barometer ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Policy document
- ↑ Graz election campaign barometer ( Memento of the original from January 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. “No election campaign at the expense of people” , press release December 2007, January 10th 2008
- ↑ Graz election campaign barometer
- ^ SPÖ in the city of Graz Walter Ferk and the SPÖ Graz presented the program for the future (report on the program presentation ), December 4, 2007
- ↑ Election program of the Grazer Volkspartei ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ ORF Steiermark begging ban in Graz another topic ; January 15, 2008
- ^ The standard online ÖVP mayor wants a coalition with the Greens
- ↑ Kleine Zeitung Online ( Memento from February 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Grazer KPÖ: room, kitchen, cabinet ; January 11, 2008
- ↑ ORF Steiermark KPÖ wants to keep third place ; January 17, 2008
- ↑ Die Grünen Graz, election program ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Der Standard , print edition January 11, 2008
- ^ ORF Steiermark GR-Wahl Graz - ÖVP-Nagl wants coalition with the Greens ; December 31, 2007
- ↑ The standard online election campaign with “old words” November 26, 2007
- ↑ a b ORF Styria Grazer FPÖ wants to score with the youth , October 12, 2007
- ↑ FPÖ Steiermark ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.1 MB) Wir Grazer , election campaign folder of the FPÖ-Graz
- ↑ Human Rights Advisory Board of the City of Graz: Press release ( Memento of the original dated December 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , December 10, 2007
- ^ ORF Styria desert Islam attack at FPÖ New Years meeting ; January 13, 2008
- ↑ The Standard Online FPÖ sets out to destroy the BZÖ ; January 14, 2008
- ↑ Program for Graz ( Memento of the original from June 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of the BZÖ Graz ( Memento of the original from January 13, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on January 13, 2008
- ↑ Human Rights Advisory Board of the City of Graz: Press release ( Memento of the original dated December 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; January 10, 2008
- ↑ The Standard Online Small lists with little chance ; January 8, 2008
- ↑ a b City of Graz ( Memento of the original from February 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. District representative election 2008, election result
- ↑ Kleine Zeitung Online ( Memento of February 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Graz election: preferential votes mixed up the ÖVP list ; January 24, 2008
- ↑ a b City of Graz election results for the Migrant Advisory Board 2008
- ^ City of Graz election results for the Migrant Advisory Council 2008
- ↑ Kleine Zeitung Online ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. "First significant increase for the FPÖ since 1999", January 21, 2008
- ↑ a b c The standard online / print edition Gerfried Sperl - Why green in Graz grew faster than blue , January 21, 2008
- ↑ a b Kurier Online: The Lessons from Graz , January 21, 2008 ( Memento from January 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b c The standard online pollster Peter Hajek in chat
- ↑ Kleine Zeitung Online ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Video interview with editor-in-chief Ernst Sittinger
- ↑ Die Presse Online "We are spared radicalization"
- ^ ORF Styria After Graz election: Riedler from now on party leader of the Graz SPÖ ; January 21, 2008
- ↑ ORF Steiermark After the Graz election: Is it now black and green? ; January 21, 2008
- ↑ Kleine Zeitung Online Die Roten left the negotiating table on February 6, 2008
- ↑ Wiener Zeitung Online “Option in Land und Bund” - In Graz, the ÖVP and the Greens have agreed on a joint coalition , March 3, 2008 (accessed on November 22, 2013)
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