2018 Salzburg state election

The 2018 Salzburg state election was held on 22 April 2018 to elect the members of the Landtag of Salzburg.

2018 Salzburg state election

22 April 2018

All 36 seats in the Landtag of Salzburg
19 seats needed for a majority
Turnout253,396 (65.0%)
Decrease 6.0%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Wilfried Haslauer Jr. Walter Steidl Marlene Svazek
Party ÖVP SPÖ FPÖ
Last election 11 seats, 29.0% 9 seats, 23.8% 6 seats, 17.0%
Seats won 15 8 7
Seat change Increase 4 Decrease 1 Increase 1
Popular vote 94,642 50,175 47,194
Percentage 37.8% 20.0% 18.8%
Swing Increase 8.8% Decrease 3.8% Increase 1.8%

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Sepp Schellhorn 2016.jpg
Leader Astrid Rössler Sepp Schellhorn
Party Greens NEOS
Last election 7 seats, 20.2% Did not contest
Seats won 3 3
Seat change Decrease 4 Increase 3
Popular vote 23,337 18,225
Percentage 9.3% 7.3%
Swing Decrease 10.9% Increase 7.3%

Results by municipality. The lighter shade indicates a plurality; the darker shade indicates a majority.

Governor before election

Wilfried Haslauer Jr.
ÖVP

Elected Governor

Wilfried Haslauer Jr.
ÖVP

The conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) placed first, taking 37.8% of votes on a swing of almost nine percentage points, a decisive lead over the second-placed Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) which slipped four points, finishing on just over 20%. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) made small gains. The Greens were the main loser of the election; their voteshare fell by over half from 2013. NEOS – The New Austria (NEOS) contested their first state election in Salzburg, debuting at 7.3%. Team Stronach, which had won 8.3% in the previous election, did not compete.[1]

The previous government coalition of the ÖVP, Greens, and Team Stronach now lacked a majority due to the absence of Team Stronach. After negotiations, NEOS agreed to join a coalition with the ÖVP and Greens, marking the first time NEOS had participated in a state government in Austria.[2]

Background

After the 2013 election, the SPÖ government was replaced by a coalition of the ÖVP, Greens, and Team Stronach. In November 2015, Hans Mayr, the only member of the state government from Team Stronach, left the party, but continued to serve in government as an independent. In 2016 he founded his own party, the Salzburg Citizens' Community (SBG), with the intention of running in the 2018 state election.[3]

In June 2015, conflicts arose between the federal FPÖ and the party's Salzburg branch, culminating in the expulsion of former regional chairmen Strache Schnell and Rupert Doppler from the party. They subsequently founded the Free Party Salzburg (FPS), which was joined by five of the FPÖ's six Landtag deputies. They sought to run in the 2018 election.[4][5]

Electoral system

The 36 seats of the Landtag of Salzburg are elected via open list proportional representation in a two-step process. The seats are distributed between six multi-member constituencies. For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must either win at least one seat in a constituency directly, or clear a 5 percent state-wide electoral threshold. Seats are distributed in constituencies according to the Hare quota, with any remaining seats allocated using the D'Hondt method at the state level, to ensure overall proportionality between a party's vote share and its share of seats.[6]

Contesting parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag.

Name Ideology Leader 2013 result
Votes (%) Seats
ÖVP Austrian People's Party
Österreichische Volkspartei
Christian democracy Wilfried Haslauer Jr. 29.0%
11 / 36
SPÖ Social Democratic Party of Austria
Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs
Social democracy Walter Steidl 23.8%
9 / 36
GRÜNE The Greens – The Green Alternative
Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative
Green politics Astrid Rössler 20.2%
7 / 36
FPÖ Freedom Party of Austria
Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs
Right-wing populism
Euroscepticism
Marlene Svazek 17.0%
6 / 36

Team Stronach, which contested the previous election and won 8.3% of votes and three seats did not contest the 2018 election.

In addition to the parties already represented in the Landtag, five parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot:

Opinion polling

Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size
ÖVP SPÖ Grüne FPÖ NEOS FPS MAYR Others Lead
2018 state election 22 Apr 2018 37.8 20.0 9.3 18.8 7.3 4.5 1.7 0.5 17.8
IMAS 1–19 Mar 2018 800 32–35 24–26 14–17 16–18 6 6–11
GMK 17 Mar 2018  ? 40 21 11 18 6 2 2 0 19
IMAS February 2018 800 31–33 23–25 14–16 18–20 7–9 0.5–1.5 6–10
Hajek 25 Feb 2018 802 33–41 18–24 7–11 20–26 5–9 1 1 1 7–21
GMK December 2017  ? 41 18 11 16 5 3 5 1 23
IMAS 4–14 Dec 2017 800 35 21 15 16 9 1 1.5 1.5 14
Jaksch & Partner 20 Nov–14 Dec 2017 808 34 23 10 24 8 1 1 0 10
2013 state election 5 May 2013 29.0 23.8 20.2 17.0 10.0[lower-alpha 1] 5.2

Results

Party Votes  % +/− Seats +/−
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) 94,642 37.78 +8.77 15 +4
Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) 50,175 20.03 –3.80 8 –1
Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) 47,194 18.84 +1.81 7 +1
The Greens – The Green Alternative (GRÜNE) 23,337 9.31 –10.87 3 –4
NEOS – The New Austria (NEOS) 18,225 7.27 +7.27 3 +3
Free Party Salzburg (FPS) 11,386 4.54 New 0 New
List Hans Mayr – Salzburg Citizens' Community (MAYR) 4,385 1.75 New 0 New
KPÖ Plus (KPÖ) 1,014 0.40 +0.07 0 ±0
Christian Party of Austria (CPÖ) 181 0.07 +0.07 0 ±0
Invalid/blank votes 2,857
Total 253,396 100 36 0
Registered voters/turnout 390,091 64.96 –6.00
Source: Salzburg State Government
Popular vote
ÖVP
37.78%
SPÖ
20.03%
FPÖ
18.84%
GRÜNE
9.31%
NEOS
7.27%
FPS
4.54%
MAYR
1.75%
Other
0.47%
Landtag seats
ÖVP
41.67%
SPÖ
22.22%
FPÖ
19.44%
GRÜNE
8.33%
NEOS
8.33%

Results by constituency

Constituency ÖVP SPÖ FPÖ Grüne NEOS FPS Others Total
seats
Turnout
 %S  %S  %S  %S  %S  %S  %
Salzburg City29.9223.2215.9115.819.23.52.4657.3
Hallein40.1120.418.09.27.13.91.4168.3
Salzburg Surrounds39.5316.8120.629.58.23.22.0667.4
St. Johann im Pongau39.9121.0120.815.05.54.23.7368.6
Tamsweg48.717.421.14.24.13.41.1071.4
Zell am See38.5221.1117.715.75.59.61.8465.1
Remaining seats63223016
Total37.81520.0818.879.337.334.502.23665.0
Source: Salzburg State Government

Maps

Aftermath

On 23 April, Astrid Rössler announced her resignation as Greens leader, but remained in office on an interim basis and to participate in coalitions negotiations.[7]

The ÖVP initiated exploratory talks with all parties in the Landtag. On 2 May, the state ÖVP executive voted to begin negotiate with the Greens and NEOS for a governing coalition. Haslauer described this arrangement as "a political alliance of the centre"; however, ÖVP federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz advocated a coalition with the FPÖ.[8][9] On 25 May, coalition negotiations between the three parties were finalised, and the cabinet was presented. It was dubbed the "Dirndl coalition", after a traditional dress which is coloured similarly to the parties involved (black, green, and pink). The government was sworn in on 13 June.[2]

Notes

  1. Including Team Stronach (8.3%), which did not contest the 2018 election.

References

Salzburg state government: Election information and Results

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