Petra Steger: Vienna Has Returned

Voters have given a clear mandate: the FPO has a say in the city’s life, said Petra Steger, MEP for Austria's Freedom Party (FPO), at the party’s election watch event. Petra Steger evaluated the results of the Vienna elections and the FPO’s historic success in an interview with Magyar Nemzet. The politician also sent a message to the city’s both outgoing and incoming mayor.

Vienna City Hall (Photo: AFP)

The Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) achieved historic success in the Vienna elections, significantly increasing its support compared to the previous vote. Pre-election polls almost exactly predicted the outcome. The FPO secured second place, while the Social Democratic Party (SPO), despite heavy losses, managed to maintain its lead.

 Vienna - Petra Steger, MEP for FPO (Photo: Magyar Nemzet)

"Vienna Has Returned"

Speaking to Magyar Nemzet at the FPO’s election event, MEP Petra Steger evaluated the election held in the Austrian capital.

Vienna has returned. We have come back; we are above 20 percent. I believe the voters sent a clear message today,

said Petra Steger, adding:

The residents of Vienna showed today that they want greater security in Vienna. They want a change; they want a more livable city again. They do not want to see hundreds of millions in the city budget spent on minimal benefits for asylum seekers.

The MEP emphasized:

The voters have given a clear mandate: the FPO now has a say in the life of the city. 

The FPO politician also sent a message to the city's former and future mayor:

Mr. Ludwig, do not trample on the will of the voters, but start a dialogue with us.

Michael Ludwig, Vienna’s socialist mayor, made it clear in his Sunday evening statement that the SPO remained the strongest party after the elections and that they would begin talks with several parties about possible cooperation. However, the mayor ruled out any coalition with the FPO.

The FPO Is Getting Closer to Forming a Government

The Freedom Party of Austria achieved an extremely good result in Vienna, and this could also accelerate national trends, emphasized Agoston Samuel Mraz, director of the Nezopont Institute, to our paper. Vienna has been led by left-wing socialists for eighty years, but their dominance could break in light of the current results. According to Agoston Samuel Mraz, there is a clear shift taking place in Austrian society:

Anti-immigration, anti-gender ideology, and pro-peace — these are the three core principles resonating with the Freedom Party, the same secret behind Fidesz’s success in Hungary.

The director of the Nezopont Institute noted that although the FPO is already very close to forming a government, a complete breakthrough has yet to happen.

Vienna's state and municipal elections were originally planned for the fall, but in January, the governing parties, the SPO and NEOS, decided to move them earlier. The residents of Vienna elected a new composition of the state parliament and 23 district representatives. In the city council, there are a total of 100 seats available. Voter turnout was only 62.7 percent.

Cover photo: Vienna City Hall (Photo: AFP)