3) Re the media: Babler wanted to tax the rich to finance his program. Some media empires in Austria are owned by families who'd likely be affected by his policies... Babler & his program were portrayed particularly badly in said media... so make of that what you will.
1) Immigration is a highly salient issue in Austria, which mostly helps the far right as other parties either co-opt their stances or don’t have a convincing counternarrative. 2) There is/was substantial infighting at the top of the SPÖ the party was not very united behind Babler to begin with.
This would probably need a more thorough analysis but I think three things are crucial here: the salience of immigration, the infighting within the SPÖ and the media landscape.
Final note: 🇦🇹 civil society is alive and kicking as protests took place last night in front of the parliament and "Donnerstagsdemonstrationen" (Thursdays' demonstrations) that were first introduced in 2000 following the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition are celebrating a comeback. www.meinbezirk.at/wien/c-lokal...
My god, posting a thread on here is even more dreadful than on the other place.
So here we are now. The only thing we know so far is that ÖVP, who lost over 11% compared to the 2019 election and came in 2nd, will be part of a gov coalition. The main question that remains is whether they will aid the far right to power once again. 18/ euobserver.com/EU%20Politic...
While all eyes are on the far-right, the centre-right Austrian People's Party (ÖVP)’s key role in September's election is often neglected. While unlikely to come in first, they will hold the most powe...
Moreover, he said the far right should get the mandate to start coalition talks and get the position of first president of the national council (as per tradition). Theoretically, that's the second most powerful position in the country, but I digress 17/ x.com/ggreilinger/...
Adding insult to injury, Doskozil, governor of Burgenland, renowned for criticism of his own party, held a press conference today to argue that the SPÖ, given their result, should not be a part of a future coalition. 16/
How they’d come to an agreement is questionable. Austria also doesn’t have a lot of experience with three-way coalitions. And if their main common denominator is their aim to prevent a government with Kickl, it’s uncertain how well/long that would work. 15/
Meanwhile, NEOS is economically right-wing and likewise heavily criticised Babler’s proposed economic program (calling it “retro”). Both ÖVP-NEOS will likely want to implement some austerity measures, while Babler wants to tax millionaires to finance his plans. 14/