1999 Austrian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 3 October 1999.[1] Although the Social Democratic Party remained the largest party in the National Council, a right-wing coalition government was formed by the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) after several months of negotiations. Although the FPÖ had finished a fraction of a point ahead of the ÖVP in the popular vote, ÖVP leader Wolfgang Schüssel became Chancellor rather than controversial FPÖ leader Jörg Haider. Haider, who had also been elected Landeshauptmann of Carinthia, was not appointed to the cabinet and resigned as party leader.[2]

1999 Austrian legislative election

3 October 1999

All 183 seats in the National Council
92 seats needed for a majority
Turnout80.42% (Decrease5.56pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Viktor Klima Jörg Haider
Party SPÖ FPÖ
Last election 38.06%, 71 seats 21.89%, 41 seats
Seats won 65 52
Seat change Decrease 6 Increase 11
Popular vote 1,532,448 1,244,087
Percentage 33.15% 26.91%
Swing Decrease4.91pp Increase5.02pp

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Wolfgang Schüssel Alexander Van der Bellen
Party ÖVP Greens
Last election 28.29%, 52 seats 4.81%, 9 seats
Seats won 52 14
Seat change Steady 0 Increase 5
Popular vote 1,243,672 342,260
Percentage 26.91% 7.40%
Swing Decrease1.38pp Increase2.59pp

Results of the election, showing seats won by state and nationwide. States are shaded according to the first-place party.

Chancellor before election

Viktor Klima
SPÖ

Elected Chancellor

Wolfgang Schüssel
ÖVP

However, foreign governments remained critical of the FPÖ's inclusion in the government and the fourteen other member countries of the European Union imposed sanctions on the country, whilst domestically the government faced protests organised by the SPÖ and Greens.[2] However, this pressure on the government helped stabilise it and when it became clear that the FPÖ was not going to be excluded from government, sanctions were lifted.[2]

Voter turnout was 80.4%.[3]

Contesting parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 20th National Council.

Name Ideology Leader 1995 result
Votes (%) Seats
SPÖ Social Democratic Party of Austria
Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs
Social democracy
Viktor Klima
38.1%
71 / 183
ÖVP Austrian People's Party
Österreichische Volkspartei
Christian democracy
Wolfgang Schüssel
28.3%
52 / 183
FPÖ Freedom Party of Austria
Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs
Right-wing populism
Euroscepticism

Jörg Haider
21.9%
41 / 183
LiF Liberal Forum
Liberales Forum
Liberalism
Heide Schmidt
5.5%
10 / 183
GRÜNE The Greens – The Green Alternative
Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative
Green politics
Alexander Van der Bellen
4.8%
9 / 183

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Social Democratic Party of Austria1,532,44833.1565–6
Freedom Party of Austria1,244,08726.9152+11
Austrian People's Party1,243,67226.91520
The Greens – The Green Alternative342,2607.4014+5
Liberal Forum168,6123.650–10
The Independents46,9431.020New
Communist Party of Austria22,0160.4800
No to NATO and EU – Neutral Austria Citizens' Initiative19,2860.4200
Christian Voters Community3,0300.070New
Total4,622,354100.001830
Valid votes4,622,35498.45
Invalid/blank votes72,8711.55
Total votes4,695,225100.00
Registered voters/turnout5,838,37380.42
Source: Austrian Interior Ministry

Results by state

State SPÖ FPÖ ÖVP Grüne LiF Others
 Burgenland41.921.030.63.71.81.0
 Carinthia35.738.616.35.52.61.3
 Lower Austria33.822.532.96.02.91.9
 Upper Austria33.126.828.67.42.71.4
 Salzburg28.929.427.88.43.81.7
 Styria33.829.226.85.82.61.8
 Tyrol23.128.032.99.73.72.6
 Vorarlberg18.230.235.210.04.81.6
 Vienna37.924.817.010.37.03.0
 Austria33.226.926.97.43.62.0
Source: Austrian Interior Ministry

References

  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p196 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Nohlen & Stöver, p179
  3. Nohlen & Stöver, p217
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