Austria on the verge of a political shift to the right

A few days before the parliamentary elections in Austria, the country is facing a political shift to the right and the end of the long-standing rule of the grand coalition between social democrats and conservatives.

– It is quite certain that the most likely new coalition government between the People’s Party and the Freedom Party, led by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, will mean a political shift to the right both domestically and in foreign policy, says Srđan Govedarica, correspondent for the German public broadcaster ARD from Vienna.

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A few days before the elections for the National Council (Nationalrat) on October 15, the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), led by the current Minister of Foreign Affairs Sebastian Kurz, is leading in all public opinion polls with around 33 percent.

The second place is contested by the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), which, depending on the poll, can count on support between 23 and 27 percent of voters.

The Green Party, Neos (Liberals), and Peter Pilz’s List, the former leader of the Green Party, are also fighting for entry into parliament and crossing the electoral threshold.

– Austrians are fed up with the eternal tug-of-war between social democrats and the People’s Party, who have been at the helm of the country for years, says Govedarica.

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The last phase of the election campaign has been overshadowed by a scandal involving fake Facebook pages that attempted to tarnish the People’s Party candidate Sebastian Kurz. The last debates between the social democratic and People’s Party candidates Kern and Kurz were marked by mutual accusations of conducting a dirty election campaign.

Disagreements between the ruling social democrats and the People’s Party intensified after Christian Kern took over the leadership of the SPÖ. Since then, as social democratic state secretary Muna Duzdar concluded earlier this year, there has been a “perpetual election battle” to the detriment of “constructive government work” between the two coalition parties. The People’s Party accused the social democrats of “incoherent policy”, especially regarding refugees. Earlier this year, Chancellor Kern threatened to break the coalition due to internal conflicts.

The Kurz phenomenon – a new/old face in Austrian politics

Sebastian Kurz (31) managed to secure new elections in the spring by exiting the grand coalition and rejuvenating the party by creating a highly personalized election campaign, thus giving the party a new, youthful image. Earlier this year, his ÖVP was far behind the social democrats and the Freedom Party in public opinion polls.

Austrian political scientists, when it comes to the “Kurz phenomenon”, also speak of the “Austrian paradox”.

– It is interesting that Sebastian Kurz, although he has been in politics for years and is part of the ruling establishment, managed to sell himself to voters as a completely new face that will shake up the Austrian political scene, says Govedarica.

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Unlike Germany, where the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) caused a major shock by entering parliament at the end of September, the Austrian right-wing populists from the Freedom Party (FPÖ) are already an established party that is not elected out of protest. They won over 20 percent of the votes in the last elections and have long been part of the establishment.

In addition, Sebastian Kurz dedicated a significant part of his election campaign to the issue of refugees and foreigners in general, particularly discussing the reduction of social benefits for foreigners, thereby taking away one of the important political topics from the FPÖ.

Kurz particularly targeted child benefits for European Union citizens working in Austria, whose children live in their countries of origin during his election campaign.

Even during his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kurz remained known as a critic of open refugee policies, which could also affect future relations with Germany.

Although refugees are no longer arriving in Austria, the late autumn of 2015, when up to 6,000 refugees were registered daily at the border crossing in Šentilj, is still fresh in many people’s memories. Thus, Kurz based his election campaign primarily on refugee issues.

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