Morning after Austrian election - Kurz's OVP triumphs, Greens soar, rightists falter

Record ID: 1434371

  • Title: Morning after Austrian election - Kurz's OVP triumphs, Greens soar, rightists falter
  • Date: 30th September 2019
  • Summary: NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGES FRONT PAGE HEADER READING (German): "RETURN OF CHANCELLOR - TRIUMPHS IMPRESSIVELY IN NATIONAL ELECTION WITH LARGEST MARGIN OVER SPO TO DATE; OPPOSITION: FPO LOSES DRAMATICALLY AND CONSIDERS RESETTING PARTY - TURQUOISE - BLUE IS HISTORY" FRONT PAGE HEADER READING (German): "KURZ HAS THE CHOICE; WILL THE OLD AND NEW CHANCELLOR BRING THE GREEN KOGLER INTO COALITION?"
  • Embargoed: 14th October 2019 08:59
  • Keywords: Austria Greens results reactions Sebastian Kurz Social Democrats newspaper headlines Freedom Party snap election
  • Location: VIENNA, AUSTRIA
  • City: VIENNA, AUSTRIA
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA008AYULKCN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Austria woke up on Monday (September 30) to newspaper headlines such as "Triumph for Kurz" and "Is the turquoise -green coalition coming?"
    Conservative leader Sebastian Kurz triumphed in Sunday's parliamentary election while the scandal-tainted far right took a beating and the Greens surged, leaving Kurz the option of forming a coalition with either of them.
    The election followed the collapse in May of Kurz's coalition with the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) after a video sting scandal that forced FPO Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache to step down.
    Kurz, 33, emerged largely unscathed from the scandal, even siphoning off voters from the FPO as further allegations surfaced last week over lavish and possibly fraudulent expenses Strache claimed from the party. Strache denies wrongdoing.
    As suggested by opinion polls for months, Kurz's People's Party (OVP) came a comfortable first, with 37.1% of the vote, according to a projection by pollster SORA for national broadcaster ORF based on a count of all but postal ballots.
    Kurz said he would initially hold talks with all parties in parliament and has not ruled out any options.
    The SORA projection showed the Social Democrats coming second with 21.7%, their worst result since World War Two but still well ahead of the FPO on 16.1% and the resurgent Greens on a record 14.0%. The projection had a margin of error of 0.7 percentage points.
    Most Vienna residents had expected Kurz to win the election, but were still surprised by the outcome. "I had expected Blue (FPO) to loose and the Greens to win a lot, but had also counted on the SPO (Social Democrats) winning more," said Theresia Sieglehner. Another resident summed up her opinion on the election result by saying: "Kurz is the best and all the others are fools. Excuse me."
    (Production: Ayhan Uyanik, Suzana Sabljic, Ulrike Heil)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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