Austria's centrist coalition survives far-right election gains- Werner Faymann's Social Democrats and conservative People's party both shed more than two points from 2008
The partners in Austria's pro-Europe, centrist coalition scraped a combined majority on Sunday despite recording their worst election results since the second world war and losing support to the far-right Freedom party and a new liberal party.Chancellor Werner Faymann's Social Democrats (SPO) – who had campaigned on a platform of defending jobs and pensions and redistributing wealth – got 27.1% of the vote, down more than two points from 2008, preliminary results showed. The conservative People's party (OVP) also shed more than two points to 23.8%, giving the two parties that have dominated post-war Austrian politics a combined – albeit reduced – majority for a new five-year term in parliament.
Faymann said he would invite OVP leader Michael Spindelegger to join him in a new coalition government but acknowledged the result was not an overwhelming vote of confidence. "There is much to do, on the one hand to justify this result and on the other hand to build up more trust for the future," he told ORF television. Spindelegger said he was open to talks, but refused to rule out a coalition with the far-right Freedom party (FPO) and the new Eurosceptic party of Austro-Canadian car-parts magnate Frank Stronach – a combination that would be numerically feasible. "This result is a wake-up call," he told ORF. "We can't simply go on as before."
The far-right FPÖ and the anti-euro but pro-EU centre-right party Team Stronach has done well - Stronach entering the Nationalrat for the first time. The right-wing anti-EU BZÖ (a splinter from the FPÖ) was completely wiped out, which is a little disconcerting for me.
