SPÖ is approaching the majority and Ludwig is waiting for the right coalition!
The first electoral estimates for the SPÖ party in Vienna, according to Foresight predictions for ORF and APA, showed a disappointing result of only 37%, raising concerns among party members. The goal was to maintain the 2020 result when the party achieved 41.6%, or at least get close to it.
But with the first official count of the results just before 18:45, the SPÖ's numbers improved to 39.3%, with a margin of error of 1.6%. This progress has restored hope for the Social Democratic Party, confirming its continued dominance as a major force in the upcoming municipal council, albeit at a lower percentage than in the previous elections.
The FPÖ party recorded a decline compared to expectations, achieving 20.5%. In contrast, the Greens improved their results to reach 14.7%, close to their performance in 2020. NEOS came in at 9.8%, slightly ahead of the ÖVP party, which received 9.6%. Neither the KPÖ (4.2%) nor the HC Strache team (1.1%) succeeded in entering the municipal council according to the preliminary results.
With this data, the Mayor of Vienna and head of the SPÖ party, Michael Ludwig, has several options for alliances. He confirmed in his statements that cooperation with the FPÖ party is completely off the table due to the presence of convicted figures promoting Nazi ideas within its ranks. According to current results, the SPÖ will receive 43 seats, the Greens 15, and both the ÖVP and NEOS will receive 10 seats each, giving Ludwig the opportunity to form a coalition with any of these parties to ensure a majority.
In his first statement, Ludwig said: "We will discuss the next steps within the party's bodies tomorrow, and we will continue exploratory talks with several parties to test cooperation opportunities. We are the winners of the elections, and we are the strongest party!". For his part, the leader of the FPÖ party in Vienna, Dominik Nepp, responded via "ORF" saying: "Our support has tripled. This is clear evidence of the people's desire for change. We demand an end to the isolation policy, and we will continue our role in oversight as we have previously proven in the social assistance scandals and Wien Energie."