Baluarte
05-06-2013, 10:05 PM
Austria’s ruling Social Democratic party lost control of Salzburg to its junior coalition partner on Sunday in the wake of a finance scandal, dealing it a blow in the last provincial poll before national elections.
The Greens and the far-right Freedom Party both made gains in the Salzburg poll, and Canadian industrialist Frank Stronach’s new party also won enough votes to enter the regional assembly.
Mr. Stronach, after a debacle in Tyrol elections – where his party failed to clear the minimum hurdle – scored 8 per cent. The Greens, who fought on an anti-corruption platform, saw their share of the vote almost triple to 20 per cent from 7 per cent four years ago.
The centre-left Social Democrats’ (SPO) share of the vote in Salzburg collapsed to 24 per cent from 39 per cent in 2009, according to exit polls. The conservative People’s Party (OVP) took control with 30 per cent, down from 36 per cent.
Austria has been ruled by a so-called grand coalition of the SPO and OVP almost continuously since the end of the Second World War.
The Freedom Party, which had suffered routs in three other provincial elections this year including in its heartland of Carinthia, raised its share of the vote to 16 per cent from 13 per cent.
The far-right party has been hurt by the arrival of the euroskeptic, economically liberal Team Stronach, which has attracted many protest votes.
The latest opinion poll last week showed the OVP is also closing in on the Social Democrats on a national level, with 25 per cent of support compared with the SPO’s 27 per cent. The gap between the coalition partners was five points in mid-January.
In Salzburg, the SPO was punished for the provincial government’s engagement in highly speculative investments, which may have cost the region hundreds of millions of euros.
The case, which triggered early elections, exposed lax supervision of opaque provincial finances and prompted a drive to rein in the regions.
The Greens and the far-right Freedom Party both made gains in the Salzburg poll, and Canadian industrialist Frank Stronach’s new party also won enough votes to enter the regional assembly.
Mr. Stronach, after a debacle in Tyrol elections – where his party failed to clear the minimum hurdle – scored 8 per cent. The Greens, who fought on an anti-corruption platform, saw their share of the vote almost triple to 20 per cent from 7 per cent four years ago.
The centre-left Social Democrats’ (SPO) share of the vote in Salzburg collapsed to 24 per cent from 39 per cent in 2009, according to exit polls. The conservative People’s Party (OVP) took control with 30 per cent, down from 36 per cent.
Austria has been ruled by a so-called grand coalition of the SPO and OVP almost continuously since the end of the Second World War.
The Freedom Party, which had suffered routs in three other provincial elections this year including in its heartland of Carinthia, raised its share of the vote to 16 per cent from 13 per cent.
The far-right party has been hurt by the arrival of the euroskeptic, economically liberal Team Stronach, which has attracted many protest votes.
The latest opinion poll last week showed the OVP is also closing in on the Social Democrats on a national level, with 25 per cent of support compared with the SPO’s 27 per cent. The gap between the coalition partners was five points in mid-January.
In Salzburg, the SPO was punished for the provincial government’s engagement in highly speculative investments, which may have cost the region hundreds of millions of euros.
The case, which triggered early elections, exposed lax supervision of opaque provincial finances and prompted a drive to rein in the regions.