2010 Austrian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Austria on 25 April 2010,[1] the twelfth election of an Austrian head of state since 1951. The candidates were President Heinz Fischer (independent, formerly SPÖ), Barbara Rosenkranz (FPÖ) and Rudolf Gehring (CPÖ). Heinz Fischer won with just under 80% of the valid votes. Voter turnout was a historic low of 54%.

2010 Austrian presidential election
25 April 2010 (2010-04-25)
Turnout54%
 
Candidate Heinz Fischer Barbara Rosenkranz Rudolf Gehring
Party Independent
(SPÖ)		 FPÖ Christian Party
Home state Styria Lower Austria Lower Austria
Popular vote 2,508,373 481,923 171,668
Percentage 79.3% 15.2% 5.4%
President before election

Heinz Fischer
Independent

 Elected President

Heinz Fischer
Independent

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of Austria
Constitution
Executive
Legislature

  • Upper house of parliament

  • Joint session of both houses
Judiciary
  • President:
    Rudolf Thienel
Elections
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Political parties
States

Candidates

Social Democratic Party of Austria

Incumbent President Heinz Fischer (independent, former member of the Social Democratic Party) announced on 23 November 2009 that he will seek a second term.[2] According to a 27 June 2009, Gallup poll for the newspaper Österreich, Fischer had a job approval rating of 80%.[3]

Austrian People's Party

There were rumours that the candidate of the Austrian People's Party would be either Governor of Lower Austria Erwin Pröll or president of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Christoph Leitl. On 13 October 2009 Pröll announced that he would not run for the Presidency and that he would remain Governor of Lower Austria.[4] Leitl and former governor of Styria Waltraud Klasnic also declined a presidential run.[5] On 25 February 2010, the People's Party announced that it would not nominate a candidate, and would not officially support any candidate.[6]

Freedom Party of Austria

The Freedom Party announced in June 2009 that it would definitely field a candidate "to prevent Fischer['s reelection]". Possible candidates mentioned included Martin Graf, Norbert Steger, Siegfried Dillersberger, Norbert Gugerbauer, Dieter Böhmdorfer and Wilhelm Brauneder.[7][8][9] After the Carinthian branch of the Alliance for the Future of Austria broke away to re-unite with the Freedom Party, it was rumoured that Barbara Rosenkranz would be their candidate.[10] In early January 2010, Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the Freedom Party, guaranteed that the party would nominate a candidate to assure that Fischer would not run unopposed.[11] On 28 February 2010, Strache announced in the Kronen Zeitung that the Freedom Party would nominate Barbara Rosenkranz as its presidential candidate.[12]

Alliance for the Future of Austria

Alliance for the Future of Austria leader Josef Bucher and General Secretary Stefan Petzner voiced their support for a presidential candidacy of Claudia Haider, widow of former Alliance leader Jörg Haider, by inviting the Greens and the Freedom Party to form a non-partisan committee. Carinthia Governor Gerhard Dörfler spoke out against such a candidacy, because he "wouldn't like to join forces with Heinz-Christian Strache's [Freedom Party]", but nonetheless said that Claudia Haider would be a "good candidate, who could finance her campaign on her own". On 17 August, Haider announced that she would not run for president.[13][14] On 26 February 2010, Bucher said that he might run as a candidate for his party, because "he could appeal to [People's Party] voters".[15] On 1 March 2010, the Alliance announced that Bucher would not stand as a candidate, as the odds were clearly against him and they did not want to waste taxpayers' money.[16]

The Greens – The Green Alternative

It was expected that former Green Party leader Alexander Van der Bellen might stand in the election, but he stated in January 2009 that if Fischer ran for reelection he would have his support.[17] In June 2009, however, Green party leader Eva Glawischnig stated that the Greens were considering fielding a candidate, and that Van der Bellen would be a very good candidate.[18] By November 2009, there was still no clear decision from the Greens, even though Van der Bellen had ruled out a run for the Presidency on 23 November 2009.[19][20] On 25 February 2010, the Greens announced they wanted to concentrate on state elections and would not nominate a candidate.[21] After Fischer appeared at an event where the Greens questioned him on a number of issues, with questions submitted by voters via the internet, the Greens on 12 April 2010 officially endorsed his candidacy and called for their voters to vote for him, a first in the party's history.[22]

Christian Party of Austria

The Christian Party nominated its chairman Rudolf Gehring as a presidential candidate.[23] On 25 March 2010, they announced they had gathered the necessary number signatures to run for president.[24]

Other candidates

A former judge from eastern Styria, Martin Wabl, who had twice previously tried to run for president, announced on 6 February 2009 that he would run again.[25] Green municipal councillor Ulrich Habsburg-Lothringen, as a descendant of the former ruling house of Austria–Hungary incapacitated by constitutional law to run for Austria's presidency, stated that he wanted to test the law at Austria's constitutional court if his candidacy is not permitted. Bernhard Gregor Honemann (nominated by the platform agenda2020.at) also planned to run.[26] None of these candidates obtained the 6000 signatures necessary to run for president. The signatures submitted were:[27]

  • Fischer: 45,000 signatures
  • Rosenkranz: 10,500 signatures
  • Gehring: 8,000 signatures

Voter statistics

According to the federal election commission, 6,355,800 Austrian citizens aged 16+ were eligible to vote in the presidential election. Compared with the 2004 presidential election, the number of eligible voters increased by 324,818, or 5.4% – primarily due to lowering the legal voting age to 16 between the two elections. 3,307,366 women and 3,048,434 men were eligible to vote.[28]

Total number of eligible voters by state:

  • Burgenland: 231,257
  • Carinthia: 447,679
  • Lower Austria: 1,267,379
  • Upper Austria: 1,092,760
  • Salzburg: 391,142
  • Styria: 973,009
  • Tyrol: 530,265
  • Vorarlberg: 265,026
  • Vienna: 1,157,283

Opinion polls

Social Democrats v. Freedom Party v. Christian Party
Source Date Social Democrats Freedom Party Christian Party Undecided
Karmasin/Profil 17 April 2010 Heinz Fischer – 82% Barbara Rosenkranz – 13% Rudolf Gehring – 5% —
Market/Standard 16 April 2010 Heinz Fischer – 60% Barbara Rosenkranz – 15% Rudolf Gehring – 4% 21%
Gallup/Österreich 16 April 2010 Heinz Fischer – 80% Barbara Rosenkranz – 16% Rudolf Gehring – 4% —
Gallup/Österreich 9 April 2010 Heinz Fischer – 82% Barbara Rosenkranz – 14% Rudolf Gehring – 4% —
Karmasin/Profil 9 April 2010 Heinz Fischer – 82% Barbara Rosenkranz – 12% Rudolf Gehring – 6% —
Market/Standard 1 April 2010 Heinz Fischer – 71% Barbara Rosenkranz – 13% Rudolf Gehring – 2% 14%

Social Democrats v. Freedom Party
Source Date Social Democrats Freedom Party Undecided
Peter Hajek/ATV 31 March 2010 Heinz Fischer – 80% Barbara Rosenkranz – 13% 7%
Gallup/Österreich 27 March 2010 Heinz Fischer – 86% Barbara Rosenkranz – 14% —
OGM/News 17 March 2010 Heinz Fischer – 81% Barbara Rosenkranz – 19% —
Gallup/Österreich 12 March 2010 Heinz Fischer – 84% Barbara Rosenkranz – 16% —
Market/Standard 5 March 2010 Heinz Fischer – 65% Barbara Rosenkranz – 17% 18%
OGM/News 3 March 2010 Heinz Fischer – 74% Barbara Rosenkranz – 26% —
Gallup/Österreich 27 February 2010 Heinz Fischer – 79% Barbara Rosenkranz – 21% —
Gallup/Österreich 27 February 2010 Heinz Fischer – 84% Heinz-Christian Strache – 16% —

Social Democrats v. People's Party
Source Date Social Democrats People's Party Undecided
IMAS/Kronen Zeitung 28 June 2009 Heinz Fischer – 62% Erwin Pröll – 20% 18%
Gallup/Österreich 27 June 2009 Heinz Fischer – 62% Erwin Pröll – 25% 13%
OGM/News 25 June 2009 Heinz Fischer – 53% Erwin Pröll – 30% 17%
Market/Standard 25 June 2009 Heinz Fischer – 54% Erwin Pröll – 30% 16%
Gallup/Österreich 4 April 2009 Heinz Fischer – 67% Erwin Pröll – 18% 15%

All parties
Source Date Social Democrats People's Party Freedom Party Greens Alliance Undecided
Gallup/Österreich 9 August 2009 Heinz Fischer – 50% Erwin Pröll – 24% Martin Graf – 3% Alexander Van der Bellen – 8% Claudia Haider – 4% 11%
Gallup/Österreich 27 June 2009 Heinz Fischer – 51% Erwin Pröll – 17% Heinz-Christian Strache – 8% Alexander Van der Bellen – 9% Claudia Haider – 5% 10%

Results

Heinz Fischer beat Barbara Rosenkranz by scoring 79.3% of the vote.[29] Rosenkranz received 15.2%.[29] Rudolf Gehring came third by scoring 5.4%.[29]

Opinion polls had placed Fischer in a good position on the day of the election.[30]

Fischer thanked the nation on television: "I am extremely happy and thank the Austrian population for having so much confidence in me".[31]

Poor voter turnout - only 53.6% voted[29] - led again to calls by leaders for the post to be abolished.[32]

Candidate Party Votes %
Heinz FischerSocial Democratic Party of Austria2,508,37379.33
Barbara RosenkranzFreedom Party of Austria481,92315.24
Rudolf GehringChristian Party of Austria171,6685.43
Invalid/blank votes242,682–
Total3,404,646100
Registered voters/turnout6,355,80053.57
Source: Federal Ministry for the Interior

By state
State Heinz Fischer Barbara Rosenkranz Rudolf Gehring Electorate Votes Valid votes Invalid votes
Burgenland104,55320,5667,174231,257148,272132,29315,979
Lower Austria534,583116,52035,7621,267,379759,052686,86572,187
Wien415,74771,12416,9731,157,283534,408503,84430,564
Kärnten140,80639,89011,211447,679207,876191,90715,969
Steiermark315,03864,35923,681973,009430,126403,07827,048
Upper Austria417,34080,98430,5401,092,760569,877528,86441,013
Salzburg136,81127,92611,137391,142188,881175,87413,007
Tirol152,35924,42911,646530,265196,079188,4347,645
Vorarlberg70,7717,0789,383265,02690,83087,2323,598
Source: European Election Database

References
  1. "Fischer kündigt Kandidatur per Video an". Salzburger Nachrichten. 23 November 2009. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  2. "Fischer kandidiert erneut". Der Standard. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  3. "Fischer bei Präsidenten-Frage in Front". oe24.at. 27 June 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  4. Quinn, Kathryn (13 October 2009). "Pröll will not run for presidency". Wiener Zeitung. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  5. "Klasnic will nicht VP-Kandidatin werden". Der Standard. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  6. "ÖVP überlässt Fischer die Hofburg kampflos". Der Standard. 24 February 2010. Archived from the original on 1 May 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  7. "Hier stimmt etwas nicht". Kurier. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  8. "FPÖ stellt Kandidaten auf". Der Standard. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  9. "FPÖ-Organisationen übergeben Unterschriften an Graf". Der Standard. 18 June 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  10. "Zeitung: Rosenkranz soll für FPÖ/FPK um Hofburg kämpfen". news.ORF.at. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  11. "Hofburg: FPÖ garantiert Fischer-Gegenkandidaten". news.ORF.at. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  12. "Strache schickt Rosenkranz ins Rennen um Hofburg". Kronen Zeitung. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  13. "BZÖ-Streit um Claudia Haider". oe24.at. 22 June 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  14. "Haiders Witwe kandidiert nicht". oe24.at. 17 August 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  15. "BZÖ: Wahlkampf um 600.000 Euro möglich". Der Standard. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  16. "BZÖ schickt niemanden ins Rennen". Der Standard. 1 March 2010. Archived from the original on 8 May 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  17. "Seite nicht gefunden". Ö1. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  18. "Seite nicht gefunden". Ö1. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  19. "Grüne über eigenen Kandidaten unschlüssig". Der Standard. 10 September 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  20. "Van der Bellen tritt nicht an". Der Standard. 23 November 2009. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  21. Prior, Thomas & Pink, Oliver (25 February 2010). "Hofburg: Parteiinterne Kritik an ÖVP-Verzicht". Die Presse. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  22. "Bundespräsidentschaft: Grüne empfehlen offiziell Wahl Fischers". The Greens – The Green Alternative. 12 April 2010. Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  23. "Christen-Partei stellt Kandidaten auf". Der Standard. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  24. http://www.kleinezeitung.at/nachrichten/politik/2320734/drei-kandidaten-rittern-um-hoechstes-amt-staat.story
  25. "Martin Wabl will sich wieder bewerben". Der Standard. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  26. "Zuversicht für Unterstützungserklärungen". Der Standard. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  27. ""Sehr schönes Ergebnis" für Heinz Fischer". Kurier. Archived from the original on 31 March 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  28. "Bundespräsidentenwahl 2010 - endgültige Zahl der Wahlberechtigten" (in German). Federal Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 28 April 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  29. "Bundespräsidentenwahl 2010" (in German). Federal Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 29 April 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  30. "Austria holds presidential election". Xinhua News Agency. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  31. "Austrian president cruises to 2nd term". CBC News. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  32. Scally, Derek (26 April 2010). "Poor turnout gives Fischer hollow re-election victory". The Irish Times. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
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