The Freedom Party (FPÖ) secured a remarkable victory in the recent elections, dominating 194 out of 286 municipalities with 34.8% overall support. Meanwhile, the ÖVP and SPÖ faced significant losses, with the ÖVP dropping to a historic low of 26.8% and the SPÖ falling to 21.4%. The Greens, NEOS, and KPÖ also struggled, with the KPÖ achieving only 4.4%. Rottenmann emerged as the FPÖ’s strongest municipality, while Graz remained the Greens’ stronghold despite declines.
FPÖ’s Remarkable Victory Across Municipalities
The Freedom Party (FPÖ) achieved a significant breakthrough in all 286 municipalities, capturing first place in 194 of them. In stark contrast, the ÖVP faced severe setbacks nationwide, mirroring the SPÖ’s historic low performance, managing to collect additional votes in just a single municipality. The SPÖ experienced losses in 246 municipalities, while the Greens suffered in 282.
Election Results: A Shift in Political Landscape
With preliminary results indicating a commanding 34.8 percent support, the Freedom Party has firmly established itself as the leading party across the nation. The FPÖ surpassed the 30 percent mark in 252 municipalities and exceeded 40 percent in 113 of them, securing an absolute majority in six municipalities.
Rottenmann emerged as the strongest municipality for the FPÖ, registering a remarkable 63.23 percent, fueled by concerns surrounding the planned main hospital in Liezen. The party’s performance was notably weaker in Graz, where it garnered 21.43 percent, despite an increase of 8.32 points.
On the other hand, the ÖVP experienced a considerable decline, losing 9.3 points and achieving only 26.8 percent—a historic low. While the party managed to gain some ground in the hometown of state party leader Christopher Drexler, Passail, reaching 54.01 percent, it only succeeded in 74 municipalities, surpassing the 50 percent threshold in seven of them, with Ranten leading at 55.12 percent.
Despite the overall losses across 285 municipalities, the ÖVP still made its mark in some regions. Notably, in 197 municipalities, the decline exceeded ten percentage points, with Rottenmann witnessing the most significant drop, achieving only 5.07 percent (a decrease of 9.6 points).
The SPÖ’s struggle continued, recording another historic low after 2019, down to 21.4 percent. The party faced losses in 246 municipalities, with Trieben experiencing the largest decline of 20.65 percentage points, resulting in a mere 24.75 percent. Unterlamm marked the SPÖ’s weakest performance, with just 6.31 percent. Although the party experienced an increase in only 40 municipalities, it managed to be the strongest in just 19, with Vordernberg leading at 58.62 percent.
The Greens also faced significant setbacks, with a drop of 5.9 points to 6.2 percent. They lost votes in 282 municipalities, and in 223 of these, their share fell below five percent. Graz remained the strongest green municipality at 14.02 percent, despite a drop of 10.65 percentage points. Only four municipalities saw an increase for the Greens.
In a slightly positive turn, the NEOS increased their support by 0.5 percentage points to 5.9 percent, with vote increases in 193 municipalities. Ramsau am Dachstein stood out as the strongest NEOS municipality at 14.47 percent, with the most significant gain observed in Stattegg (+4.61). However, in 92 municipalities, they experienced a decline, with their weakest result at 1.01 percent in Vordernberg.
Lastly, the KPÖ faced challenges nationwide, dropping to 4.4 percent (down 1.6), yet managed to retain two mandates in the state parliament. The party lost votes in 221 municipalities, achieving over ten percent in just one municipality, and exceeding five percent in only 14. Graz was the strongest municipality for the KPÖ at 10.24 percent, despite a decline of 2.99.