2022 Austrian Presidential Election

[ConservativeElector2]

I guess it's time to open a thread for this event!

So far a lot of potential candidates have announced their candidacy, but they will need 6000 signatures to be on the ballot on October 9th.

I am undecided currently, because I pretty dislike everyone of those who are already running (little known perennial candidate Franz Josef Gollowitsch seems to be best so far) for different reasons and I am hoping for Christoph Leitl (former president of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber) to declare a candidacy. Alternatively Tassilo Wallentin (a prominent lawyer) would also be a formidable candidate, I guess.

 

The most notable ones besides a lot of perennial candidates are:

• Michael Brunner – lawyer,  MFG party (anti-vax, anti-lockdown) leader
• Gerald Grosz – right-wing populist TV commentator, businessman, author and former chairman of the right-wing Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ - 2013–2015) 
• Robert Marschall – anti-EU Political activist
• Walter Rosenkranz – Freedom Party candidate; Ombudsman of the National Council, former FPÖ member of the National Council, former FPÖ group leader in the National Council, former leader of the Lower Austria FPÖ
• Hubert Thurnhofer – art curator, philosopher, anti-vax activist and author
• Alexander Van der Bellen – incumbent President of Austria (2017–present), former spokesman of The Greens (1997–2008)
• Dominik Wlazny (alias Marco Pogo) – Doctor and frontman of the punkrock band Turbobier, leader of the satirical Beer Party (2014–present)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Austrian_presidential_election

[ConservativeElector2]

13 minutes ago, Patine said:

I'm not sure why you consider the Austrian Presidential elections to be far more worthy of focus over the Nationalrat, which you in fact de-emphasize. May I enquire into this odd priority?

I saw this already coming and I actually don't know where you're getting this notion from. I never said, what you are bringing up here. There is a presidential election scheduled for October, so it's seems pretty obvious for me to talk about them first. Especially since National Council elections aren't even scheduled yet, because they are regularly in 2024 again. If there are snap elections, we will talk about them as well.

Edited July 12, 2022 by ConservativeElector2

[ConservativeElector2]

10 minutes ago, Patine said:

Let me rephrase. In the past you have only made posts around Austrian Presidential elections and been conspicuous in your absence of such around Nationalrat elections, as I recall. That empirically observed priority is what I was asking about.

Just because I am absent around these elections, it doesn't mean I am neglecting or not following them. This past you are referring to is probably 2016. Yes, I have posted about the 2016 Presidential elections and I remember it was a great discussion especially with @jvikings1. Surely I want to replicate this.

Yes, I wasn't particularly interested in the 2017 and 2019 Nationalrat elections, because all parties including the Kurz led People's Party have become awful since around 2017. If the People's Party is still led by Chancellor Nehammer by the time of the next election, I will not be eager to think about them either, but it could be interesting when they get a crushing defeat at the polls.

Anyway, now it's Presidential Election campaign season and I am eager to find out about who's going to be on the ballot. As stated, my preferred perennial candidate probably won't make the cut and the candidates-in-waiting might not declare to run. So, I don't know who to support, but I look forward to the debates.

[10centjimmy]

That's pretty cool one can vote at 16 there. Do they have voting opportunities for Austrians abroad, too? 

[jvikings1]

Marco Pogo and the Beer Party for the win!

[ConservativeElector2]

8 hours ago, 10centjimmy said:

That's pretty cool one can vote at 16 there. Do they have voting opportunities for Austrians abroad, too? 

I think so, yes! At least the Foreign Ministry has a link on it's website on "Voting for Austrians abroad". It is likely a complex administrative process, but it seems to be possible to mail in a ballot from abroad.

[ConservativeElector2]

7 hours ago, Patine said:

Given the lack of any real power or authority, for the most part, by the office, that would be no more, or no less, harmful than anyone else. The real injustice, in Austria, specifically, is that they actually have the gall to fine you for not voting in their mascot Presidential elections (as opposed to more meaningful offices).

Well, the Austrian president has some powers such as refusing to inaugurate a cabinet member or dissolving the parliament.

Furthermore, as far as I know this practice of compulsory voting was abolished in the last state (Tyrol) in 2004.

 

Citing a very interesting study on this:

"The first presidential election with compulsory voting was held in 1951. Up until 1980, there were seven presidential elections, and all of them had CV. However, a 1982 amendment to the Austrian Constitution made voting in presidential elections compulsory only in the states that decided so. In the 1986 presidential elections, the states of Vorarlberg, Tyrol, Styria, and Carinthia decided to keep CV. Furthermore, Carinthia enacted a law establishing CV for parliamentary and state elections. The remaining five states abolished CV in presidential elections after the 1982 amendment. In 1992, a Federal Constitution amendment by the national parliament withdrew the power of establishing mandatory voting in the national parliament elections from the states (Federal Law Gazette No. 470/1992). Starting in the 1994 parliamentary elections, voting was optional in all states. After this constitutional amendment, the states which still had CV in presidential and state parliament elections started repealing their state laws one by one. In 1993, Carinthia and Styria eliminated CV for both types of elections. Tyrol repealed CV for state parliament elections in 2002, and Vorarlberg got rid of it before the 2004 elections. After these elections, Tyrol finally repealed CV for presidential elections. Thus, the 2010 presidential elections (the last in our sample) were the first in which voting was voluntary throughout the country. During the period when voting was compulsory, local authorities were responsible for issuing fines against non-voters failing to provide a reasonable excuse for abstaining. Abstention penalties were extremely rare, as the law allowed for a wide range of excuses for not voting, such as illnesses, professional commitments, urgent family matters, being outside the state during the election, or “other compelling circumstances” due to which the voter could not go to the polls. Importantly, voters who excused themselves were not required to provide documentation justifying their absence. After qualitative work with Austrian citizens and elites, Shineman (2014) concludes that fines rarely had real consequences and were almost never enforced. Appendix B.2 gives additional details supporting that fines were weakly enforced."

https://bse.eu/sites/default/files/working_paper_pdfs/856_0.pdf

[ConservativeElector2]

3 minutes ago, Patine said:

Does the President of Austria wield these powers more freely, by comparison, in practice?

No, not really.

President Renner (1945-1950) refused to accept a minister under corruption charges, President Klestil (1992-2004) refused two far-right ministers. These are the only occasions in which a president did not inaugurate a minister.

President Miklas dissolved the Nationalrat in 1930.

President Fischer (2004-2016) refused to sign one single law.

President Van der Bellen fired incumbent Minister of the Interior Herbert Kickl in 2019.

No president has issued emergency measures without the prior consent of the Nationalrat so far.

No president so far has dissolved a state parliament.

 

[10centjimmy]

11 hours ago, jvikings1 said:

Marco Pogo and the Beer Party for the win!

The party platform is pretty solid.  50 Liter beer barrel monthly allotment per adult, and 20 L per child. And a mandated aptitude test for politicians. Right on!

[jvikings1]

1 hour ago, 10centjimmy said:

50 Liter beer barrel monthly allotment per adult, and 20 L per child.

That’s one welfare program I can get behind!

[10centjimmy]

Just now, Patine said:

After all, whose going to resist a dictatorship if their all hammered?

Agreed! Very "Brave New World" on a budget.

[ConservativeElector2]

The first poll has been released since the Freedom Party (only party in parliament which fields a challenger to the incumbent) has announced their candidate, Walter Rosenkranz.

 

• 63% - Alexander Van der Bellen (incumbent, Green)
• 21% - Walter Rosenkranz (Freedom Party; right-wing to far-right)
• 6% - Gerald Grosz (independent right-wing populist; notably first openly gay right-winger)
• 5% - Michael Brunner (MFG; anti-vax and anti-Covid measures party)
• 5% - Marco Pogo (real name Dominik Wlazny; satirical Beer Party candidate, physician and rock musician)

The main question is whether there will be a run-off election (no one reaching 50%+ in the first round). 

[ConservativeElector2]

New Poll! 🚨

• 38% - Alexander Van der Bellen (incumbent, Green)
• 28% - Undecided; none
• 17% - Walter Rosenkranz (Freedom Party; right-wing to far-right)
• 7% - Marco Pogo (real name Dominik Wlazny; satirical Beer Party candidate, physician and rock musician)
• 6% - Gerald Grosz (independent right-wing populist (formerly BZÖ); notably first openly gay right-winger)
• 2% - Michael Brunner (MFG; anti-vax and anti-Covid measures party)
• 2% - others

Edited July 23, 2022 by ConservativeElector2

[ConservativeElector2]

New Poll! 🚨

• 54% - Alexander Van der Bellen (incumbent, Green)
• 24% - Walter Rosenkranz (Freedom Party; right-wing to far-right)
• 10% - Marco Pogo (real name Dominik Wlazny; satirical Beer Party candidate, physician and rock musician)
• 9% - Gerald Grosz (independent right-wing populist (formerly BZÖ); notably first openly gay right-winger)
• 3% - Michael Brunner (MFG; anti-vax and anti-Covid measures party)

[jvikings1]

2 hours ago, ConservativeElector2 said:

New Poll! 🚨

• 54% - Alexander Van der Bellen (incumbent, Green)
• 24% - Walter Rosenkranz (Freedom Party; right-wing to far-right)
• 10% - Marco Pogo (real name Dominik Wlazny; satirical Beer Party candidate, physician and rock musician)
• 9% - Gerald Grosz (independent right-wing populist (formerly BZÖ); notably first openly gay right-winger)
• 3% - Michael Brunner (MFG; anti-vax and anti-Covid measures party)

Why do the establishment parties (OVP and SPO) not run a candidate against an incumbent? Is it just not worth the effort since the position does not have much power?

[ConservativeElector2]

9 hours ago, jvikings1 said:

Why do the establishment parties (OVP and SPO) not run a candidate against an incumbent? Is it just not worth the effort since the position does not have much power?

I would say it is a combination of at least three factors. The more representative nature of the office, to save campaign costs for the more important National Council elections and because to not repeat the embarrasing results from 6 years ago. Both establishment party candidates got only around 11%. This was a huge blow to both parties and now VdB has even the incumbency bonus - if that's a bonus at all.

I say it's a huge mistake to not run their own candidates but I can see the reasons behind the decisions.

[ConservativeElector2]

New Polls! 🚨

• 41% - Alexander Van der Bellen (incumbent, Green)
• 28% - Undecided; none
• 16% - Walter Rosenkranz (Freedom Party; right-wing to far-right)
• 7% - Marco Pogo (real name Dominik Wlazny; satirical Beer Party candidate, physician and rock musician)
• 5% - Gerald Grosz (independent right-wing populist (formerly BZÖ); notably first openly gay right-winger)
• 2% - Michael Brunner (MFG; anti-vax and anti-Covid measures party)
• 2% - others

 

 

• 58% - Alexander Van der Bellen (incumbent, Green)
• 22% - Walter Rosenkranz (Freedom Party; right-wing to far-right)
• 10% - Marco Pogo (real name Dominik Wlazny; satirical Beer Party candidate, physician and rock musician)
• 7% - Gerald Grosz (independent right-wing populist (formerly BZÖ); notably first openly gay right-winger)
• 3% - Michael Brunner (MFG; anti-vax and anti-Covid measures party)

[ConservativeElector2]

Gerald Grosz's facebook page was deactivated today. He says no reasons were given by FB and sees it as an assault to hinder his campaign from gaining traction. I don't know what he said or posted there, because I don't read this kind of stuff and don't like FB altogether. However, I guess it's not surprising that someone who had a picture of Putin behind him in the campaign announcement video is being reported by some others.

[ConservativeElector2]

Seven candidates have been approved for the ballot:

• Michael Brunner – lawyer, MFG party (anti-vax, anti-lockdown) leader
• Gerald Grosz – far-right/right-wing populist TV commentator, businessman, author and former chairman of the right-wing Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ - 2013–2015) 
• Walter Rosenkranz – right-wing Freedom Party candidate; Ombudsman of the National Council, former FPÖ member of the National Council, former FPÖ group leader in the National Council, former leader of the Lower Austria FPÖ
• Heinrich Staudinger - independent far-left businessman who operates shoe stores and calls himself a communist, anti-vaccine populism
• Tassilo Wallentin - independent center-right to right-wing lawyer, author and columnist 
• Dominik Wlazny (alias Marco Pogo) – left-wing Doctor and frontman of the punkrock band Turbobier, leader of the satirical Beer Party (2014–present)
• Alexander Van der Bellen – left-wing incumbent President of Austria (2017–present), former spokesman of The Greens (1997–2008)

New Polls! 🚨

First poll seeing a possible run-off election between the first two candidates:

• 45% - Alexander Van der Bellen (incumbent, Green)
• 18% - Walter Rosenkranz (Freedom Party; right-wing to far-right)
• 14% - Marco Pogo (real name Dominik Wlazny; satirical Beer Party candidate, left-wing physician and rock musician)
• 10% - Tassilo Wallentin (independent center-right to right-wing lawyer, author and columnist)
• 6% - Gerald Grosz (independent right-wing populist (formerly Freedom Party/BZÖ); notably first openly gay right-winger)
• 4% - Michael Brunner (MFG party; anti-vax and anti-Covid measures party)
• 3% - Heinrich Staudinger ( independent far-left businessman; self-declared communist, anti-vax populism)

Only Vienna poll

 

• 56% - Alexander Van der Bellen (incumbent, Green)
• 13% - Marco Pogo (real name Dominik Wlazny; satirical Beer Party candidate, left-wing physician and rock musician)
• 12% - Walter Rosenkranz (Freedom Party; right-wing to far-right)
• 9% - Tassilo Wallentin (independent center-right to right-wing lawyer, author and columnist)
• 5% - Gerald Grosz (independent right-wing populist (formerly Freedom Party/BZÖ); notably first openly gay right-winger)
• 3% - Heinrich Staudinger ( independent far-left businessman; self-declared communist, anti-vax populism)
• 2% - Michael Brunner (MFG party; anti-vax and anti-Covid measures party)

 

On Sunday the first TV debate took place. The incumbent did not attend, because no President running for re-election has ever attended a TV debate. Still many people criticize Van der Bellen's move.

Edited September 14, 2022 by ConservativeElector2

[DakotaHale]

Beer party got my vote 🍺🎉

[ConservativeElector2]

For anyone who cares about tomorrow lol (too lazy to type all new polls, so here's the wiki section)

[vcczar]

47 minutes ago, ConservativeElector2 said:

For anyone who cares about tomorrow lol (too lazy to type all new polls, so here's the wiki section)

I assume I'd vote Green. I don't know Austrian politics, quality of life, etc. to have such an informed decision on how I'd vote were I Austrian. I assume I'd be a Sanders-Warren Progressive in any nation, but I also think that I can't assume that if I don't live in that nation and etc. Based off pictures, Staudinger sounds like he's be the most interesting to talk to. He looks like he's eccentric enought to not be a boring conversationalist. 

[jvikings1]

If Wlazny doesn't advance, the things must be rigged! The Beer Party will not be denied its rightful place as leader of Austria!

[ConservativeElector2]

5 hours ago, vcczar said:

I assume I'd vote Green. I don't know Austrian politics, quality of life, etc. to have such an informed decision on how I'd vote were I Austrian. I assume I'd be a Sanders-Warren Progressive in any nation, but I also think that I can't assume that if I don't live in that nation and etc. Based off pictures, Staudinger sounds like he's be the most interesting to talk to. He looks like he's eccentric enought to not be a boring conversationalist. 

Yeah, Staudinger is very far-left, even more than the incumbent because in TV debates Staudinger labels himself as a Communist and heavily criticizes capitalism. He is also an anti-vaxxer and against the sanctions/weapons against Russia. So he qualifies as a (left-wing) populist.

Outside of politics he got "famous" for building up a shoe factory in an area which had no real industry. Although he operates like more than 30 shoe stores in Austria and even some in Germany and Switzerland I had never heard of him until he entered the presidential race in mid-August. He is a quite likeable man of the people, doesn't believe he'll get elected and has a funny way of talking - very slowly but he always manages it to come to the core of his statements. Whenever he starts talking you doubt he'll get his sentences out, but strangely he does. It's also funny, that while most people wore black suits and ties to the TV debates, Staudinger went there casually dressed with his own shoes and this Johnsonesque uncombed hair style.