- Title: Greens celebrate result in Austrian election with drinks and dance
- Date: 29th September 2019
- Summary: VIENNA, AUSTRIA (SEPTEMBER 29, 2019) (REUTERS) ELECTION RESULTS BEING SHOWN ON TELEVISION SCREEN VARIOUS OF GREENS SUPPORTERS CHEERING AND APPLAUDING RESULTS (SOUNDBITE) (German) RUDOLF ANSCHOBER, STATE ADMINISTRATOR OF UPPER AUSTRIA FOR INTEGRATION AND ENVIRONMENT, SAYING: "Who could have expected this result? I certainly didn't. We knew the mood was good on the streets but the mood doesn't necessarily translate into votes. The result is magnificent. It's the biggest comeback ever in the history of Austrian politics of recent decades and the best result the Greens have ever achieved in Austria," VARIOUS OF GREENS SUPPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (German) GREEN SUPPORTER EWA ERNST-DZIEDZIC, SAYING: "The Greens stand for progressive policies. The turquoise-blue coalition (alliance of Sebastian Kurz's People's Party and the far right Freedom Party) has shown that it rather stands for authoritarian, reactionary politics and that was of course reflected in certain topics that matter to citizens. We will of course have to see if there is any movement with the OVP and only once we've done that will be able to determine what it means for our position and how we will deal with it." GREENS SUPPORTERS CHATTING AND HOLDING DRINKS (SOUNDBITE) (German) RUDOLF ANSCHOBER, STATE ADMINISTRATOR OF UPPER AUSTRIA FOR INTEGRATION AND ENVIRONMENT, SAYING: "We won't formulate any conditions for joining a coalition today but we will be available for discussions and we will enter these discussions proactively. We are well prepared for these discussions and I can only say that we will campaign for changes in this country, especially regarding climate protection but also in terms of integration - that is the mandate we got tonight." GREENS SUPPORTERS WITH DRINKS AND CAMERAS
- Embargoed: 13th October 2019 18:45
- Keywords: Greens Werner Kogler snap election polling station voting
- Location: VIENNA, AUSTRIA
- City: VIENNA, AUSTRIA
- Country: Austria
- Reuters ID: LVA001AYPNI2V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Austria's resurgent Greens celebrated historic gains in an election on Sunday (September 29) as Austrian conservative leader Sebastian Kurz triumphed in Sunday's parliamentary election and now faces the task of forming a coalition, with the Greens being one possible partner.
Supporters of the Greens danced to the 1999 sing-a-long party hit "We're Going to Ibiza" by Dutch pop group Vengaboys - a song that hit number 1 in Austria after the government collapsed in May. Heinz-Christian Strache, then the far-right Freedom Party leader and Austria's vice chancellor, resigned after a video emerged showing him on the Spanish Mediterranean island of Ibiza offering to fix state contracts for favors from a woman posing as a Russian oligarch's niece.
"Who could have expected this result? I certainly didn't," said Rudolf Anschober, state administrator of Upper Austria for integration and the environment. "We knew the mood was good on the streets but the mood doesn't necessarily translate into votes. The result is magnificent. It's the biggest comeback ever in the history of Austrian politics of recent decades and the best result the Greens have ever achieved in Austria."
As predicted by opinion polls for months, Kurz's People's Party (OVP) came a comfortable first, with 37.0% of the vote, according to a projection by pollster SORA for national broadcaster ORF published soon after voting ended.
The Social Democrats came second with 21.8%, their worst result since World War Two but still well ahead of the FPO on 16.0% and the Greens on 14.1%, the projection showed. It had a margin of error of 1.4 percentage points.
Kurz has said he will talk to all parties. His two most likely choices are either to ally with the FPO again or with the Greens and liberal Neos. A centrist coalition with the Social Democrats is possible but unlikely under their current leadership. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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