Patrick Poppel, expert at the Center for Geostrategic Studies (Belgrade)
When people in the Austrian region of Styria went to the polls on Sunday, it was already clear to many that the opposition FPÖ (Freedom Party of Austria) would receive many votes. But no one suspected that this election could give us a concrete glimpse of future political developments.
For the ÖVP (Austrian People's Party), the result of the state elections in Styria is an absolute disaster. The party suffered massive losses. The SPÖ (Social Democratic Party of Austria) also lost many votes. The incumbent state government therefore no longer has a majority in the new regional parliament.
The FPÖ top candidate Mario Kunasek was happy about the spectacular victory on Sunday. With almost 35 percent, the FPÖ broke its previous records in state elections in Styria.
There was also a catastrophe in the Green Party. Despite the climate crisis and truly devastating flood disasters in Styria in the last two summers, Sandra Krautwaschl (Greens) was unable to maintain her results from 2019. Her party even halved and ended up at just over six percent in the first projection on Sunday. As a result, the Greens also lost three of their six mandates in the regional parliament.
There is also no success for the Communist Party, which even has the mayor in the capital Graz. But how could this happen? Many commentators speak of a massive influence of bad policies at the federal level, which change the mood of voters in the regions.
Christopher Drexler (head of the federal state of Styria) criticized the behavior of the federal government in Vienna on the evening of the election. He also spoke about the role of the Federal President, who excluded the FPÖ at the level of federal politics.
This election not only clearly shows that many voters are voting for a different party in protest, but also that the political landscape will change permanently. The ÖVP and the KPÖ in particular have built up a strong core of voters in this region. But this structure has collapsed.
The negative influence of the incompetent politics at the federal level is now even reaching the people in the villages, so that they are leaving their political tradition and joining another party.
In the past, regional scandals often led to a different decision in elections at the regional parliament level, but now it is clear what influence federal policy will continue to have on this second political level in the future. The old structures of the established parties can no longer counteract this dynamic development.
People have also lost trust in the Green Party. The Greens have changed their profile so much in recent years that many of their former supporters no longer vote for them. The aggressive course in supporting Ukraine certainly plays a role here. The former green “peace party” is now one of the greatest threats when it comes to peace in Europe.
A good example is the constant, very aggressive statements made by the Green German Foreign Minister against Russia. This also led to major losses for the Green Party in the last elections in Germany.
The FPÖ's victory must also be seen in light of the fact that most of the regional media were under the influence of the other parties. And yet the Freedom Party achieved such a good result. This victory also shows how little people trust the mainstream media.
It is certainly also a victory for the alternative media structure, which strongly supports the FPÖ's agenda. With the further expansion of alternative media in Europe, it can be assumed that this success in this Austrian federal state will not be the last success of the opposition forces.
It is a clear sign that there are major changes in the relationship between politics and the media. After the European elections, the regional elections in Germany, the federal elections in Austria and the current election in Austrian Styria, a clear trend can now be seen.
The opposition forces can no longer be stopped democratically. But now the system is trying to exclude the opposition through the administrative route. In Germany there is always talk of a ban on the successful AFD (Alternative for Germany) and in Austria the FPÖ, as the strongest party, has de facto been excluded from forming the government.
The old system in Europe is still very strong, but there are already developments in the media that will continue to support the opposition in the future. And using Austria as an example, we can clearly see how it is possible for opposition forces to achieve victory in other European countries.
