Nevertheless, there was a setback for the President of the Federal Chamber, Renate Anderl, as the list she led lost ground in Vienna. There were also moderate losses for the FSG in Burgenland, while in Lower Austria they were even able to expand their supremacy.
The result in the federal capital is always viewed with particular interest, as the election winner is traditionally also the President of the Federal Chamber of Labor. The result gave Anderl neither any particular reason to celebrate nor to mourn.
The FSG lost 3.2 percentage points, but remained the strongest force by a huge margin at 57.5 percent. The pursuers also had to give up, least of all the liberal workers, who therefore took second place with 8.4 percent despite a minus of 0.6 points. The Christian trade unionists even lost 2.9 percentage points and only have 6.9 percent. Things also became unpleasant for the Greens and Independents, whose five percent vote meant a loss of 3.1 points.
Left edge quite satisfied
With a view to the National Council elections next autumn, it is not uninteresting that splinter groups from the left-wing fringe could be quite satisfied. LINKS, KOMintern and the Trade Union Left Bloc together came to 5.6 percent and were thus well ahead of the NEOS list, which was running for the first time and was able to get 2.7 percent. Of course, the NEOS also clearly stood out from the other lists by rejecting – atypical for an employee election – more vacation, shorter working hours and compulsory chamber membership.
Things went better for the red trade unionists in Lower Austria than in Vienna. Under President Markus Wieser, they were not only able to maintain their absolute majority but were even able to expand it by more than two percentage points to 64 percent. The Lower Austria People’s Party NÖAAB-FCG lost six points, which was just enough for second place. For the Freedom Workers there was an increase of 3.7 points. Five years ago, the gap between black and blue employee representatives was eleven percent – now there is only one between the sub-organizations of the coalition partners in the state government. The Communists (KOMintern) tripled in Lower Austria to 1.8 percent, the Greens increased slightly to 3.6 percent.
Stable balance of power in Burgenland
The balance of power in Burgenland is stable. The FSG lost around three percentage points, but with President Gerhard Michalitsch it can still enjoy a whopping two-thirds majority (68.8). Consolation prize for the People’s Party on this election evening: The ÖVP workers achieved a slight increase of 0.6 percentage points with top candidate Johannes Mezgolits and reached 18.5 percent. The Freedom Workers made the biggest increase of 1.8 percentage points, which ultimately meant 9.4 percent. Alternative, independent and green trade unionists were pleased with an increase to 3.3 percent. Voter turnout was initially a disappointing 33 percent. In Lower Austria it was only slightly higher at 34.5 percent. Vienna, with 40 percent, performed best in the eastern region.
The Chamber of Labor election in Styria has been concluded. You can vote there until April 29th.
