US embassy cable - 05VIENNA3329

UNCLAS VIENNA 003329 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
TAGS: PGOV, AU 
SUBJECT:  SPO Wins Absolute Majority in Burgenland 
 
Election 
 
THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. 
 
REF: Vienna 3269 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: In state elections in Burgenland on 
 
October 9, the Social Democrats won an absolute majority. 
 
This followed a victory in Styrian state elections on 
 
October 2 (reftel).  The state chapter of Chancellor 
 
Wolfgang Schuessel's People's Party (OVP) saw a modest 
 
increase in support.  The ailing Freedom Party (FPO) saw 
 
its strength cut in half, but the FPO was able to retain 
 
seats in the state legislature.  The Greens came in 
 
fourth, with marginal losses.  Carinthian governor Joerg 
 
Haider's BZO did not run.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) Results (change from 2000) 
 
OVP     36.3 Percent (+1.0)   13 seats  (-) 
 
SPO     52.2 Percent (+5.7)   19 seats (+2) 
 
FPO      5.8 Percent (-6.9)    2 seats (-2) 
 
Greens   5.2 Percent (-0.3)    2 seats  (-) 
 
Electorate: 242,200 
 
Voter Turnout:  80.9 Percent 
 
3. (SBU) According to the system of proportional 
 
representation, the seven-member state government will 
 
have four SPO councilors and three from the OVP. 
 
However, the position of the OVP will be delicate, 
 
because the SPO absolute majority in the legislature 
 
means that the governing party will now be able to pass 
 
legislation, including the budget, without support from 
 
other parties. 
 
4.  (SBU) Observers attribute the SPO win to incumbent 
 
governor Hans Niessl's personal popularity.  They also 
 
cite a national trend in favor of the Social Democrats in 
 
state elections.  The Burgenland SPO did not profit to 
 
the same extent from the collapse of FPO voter support as 
 
in state elections in Styria the week before.  Instead, 
 
the SPO was able to attract voters who had stayed away in 
 
the 2000 election, as well as young first-time voters. 
 
(The state legislature had lowered the voting age to 16.) 
 
5.  (SBU) The OVP managed to increase its proportion of 
 
the vote for the first time since 1956, albeit by only 1 
 
percentage point.  But the OVP failed to reach its stated 
 
goal of preventing an SPO absolute majority.  The FPO was 
 
happy enough to remain as the third strongest party in 
 
the state legislature, even though it lost two seats.  In 
 
hindsight, the FPO strategy of preventing a run by 
 
Carinthian governor Joerg Haider's BZO worked out.  The 
 
Greens had hoped to overtake the FPO.  However, the 
 
Greens, traditionally weak in rural areas such as 
 
Burgenland, struggled with a deficit of issues -and of 
 
attractive candidates. 
 
6.  (SBU) COMMENT: The SPO win in Burgenland was no 
 
surprise.  The SPO has filled the state's governorship 
 
since 1964.  However, the result adds to the impression 
 
that the SPO is gaining momentum nationally.  Tthe party 
 
won the governorship of Styria from the People's Party on 
 
October 2 (reftel).  The Social Democrats are also on 
 
track to retain their absolute majority in Vienna's state 
 
elections on October 23.  The OVP's problem is less a 
 
function of its own popularity than of the collapse of 
 
its one-time coalition partner, the FPO.  With a year to 
 
go before federal elections, Chancellor Schuessel will 
 
keep a wary eye on prospects for a renewed coalition with 
 
one or more FPO sucessor parties. 
 
van Voorst