In a stunning turn of events during Vienna’s latest election, Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) roared back to life, tripling its share of the vote and shaking up the city’s political landscape. Though the Social Democrats (SPÖ) managed to hang onto first place, the FPÖ’s surge stole much of the spotlight on Sunday night.
Preliminary results, with nearly all votes counted except a handful of postal ballots due Monday, show the SPÖ leading with 39.5% — a slight dip from their 2020 result. Meanwhile, the FPÖ skyrocketed to 20.8%, marking a jaw-dropping gain of over 13 points, the party’s best-ever leap in Vienna following its slump after the Ibiza scandal.
The Greens held their ground reasonably well, notching 14.2%, a modest loss compared to their previous performance. Yet the real nail-biter remains the neck-and-neck battle for fourth place between the NEOS and the battered ÖVP, with both hovering around 9.8% and 9.7% respectively. Final postal tallies will ultimately settle the score.
Even factoring in estimated postal votes, projections place the SPÖ at 39.5%, FPÖ at 20.4%, and Greens slightly higher at 14.5%. The race between NEOS and ÖVP remains razor-thin, and with a margin of error still floating around +/- 0.3%, every single postal ballot counts.
Despite the SPÖ’s slight decline — just a 2.2-point drop from 2020 — the party stands firm atop Vienna’s political heap. Their coalition options are wide open, too: they could renew ties with NEOS, team up with the struggling ÖVP, or pivot toward the Greens. Although a mathematical majority with the FPÖ is technically possible, the SPÖ has ruled out any cooperation with the far-right faction.
Meanwhile, the ÖVP suffered a brutal fall, plummeting over 10 points from its strong 2020 showing — its worst result in Vienna’s modern history. In contrast, the FPÖ’s remarkable comeback has been the story of the election, leaving many political analysts eating crow.
On the fringes, minor parties found little joy. The KPÖ, running alongside the LEFT alliance, scraped together just 4%, falling short of the 5% threshold needed for parliamentary representation. Team Strache fared even worse, limping in with a paltry 1.1%.
All eyes now turn to Monday’s final count, but one thing’s already crystal clear: Vienna’s political map has been redrawn, and the FPÖ’s dramatic resurgence will be sending shockwaves through Austria for some time to come.
