2013 Carinthian state election

The 2013 Carinthian state election was held on 3 March 2013 to elect the members of the Landtag of Carinthia.

2013 Carinthian state election

3 March 2013

All 36 seats in the Landtag of Carinthia
19 seats needed for a majority
Turnout331,207 (75.1%)
6.6%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Peter Kaiser Gerhard Dörfler Wolfgang Waldner
Party SPÖ FPK ÖVP
Last election 11 seats, 28.8% 17 seats, 44.9% 6 seats, 16.8%
Seats won 14 6 5
Seat change 3 11 1
Popular vote 120,396 54,634 46,696
Percentage 37.1% 16.8% 14.4%
Swing 8.3% 28.0% 2.4%

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Rolf Holub Gerhard Köfer Josef Bucher
Party Greens Stronach BZÖ
Last election 2 seats, 5.1% Did not exist Did not contest
Seats won 5 4 2
Seat change 3 4 2
Popular vote 39,241 36,256 20,745
Percentage 12.1% 11.2% 6.4%
Swing 6.9% New party 6.4%

Governor before election

Gerhard Dörfler
FPK

Elected Governor

Peter Kaiser
SPÖ

The election saw a massive shift in Carinthian politics, which had been dominated by the Freedom Party in Carinthia (FPK) and Governor Jörg Haider since the 1990s. After Haider's death in 2008, he was succeeded by Gerhard Dörfler. After winning the 2009 election, Dörfler's government suffered a string of scandals and the FPK's popularity plummeted. Ultimately, they suffered a catastrophic loss of 28 percentage points, the worst ever suffered by a party in post-war Austria. They finished on 16.8%, a distant second place behind the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), which won 37.1%. The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) retained third place, but declined to 14.4%. Apart from the SPÖ, other beneficiaries of the FPK's collapse were The Greens, Team Stronach, and Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ), who each made significant gains.[1][2]

Background

Prior to amendments made in 2017, the Carinthian constitution mandated that cabinet positions in the state government (state councillors, German: Landesräten) be allocated between parties proportionally in accordance with the share of votes won by each; this is known as Proporz. As such, the government was a perpetual coalition of all parties that qualified for at least one state councillor.[3]

In 2005, then-Governor and former federal leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) Jörg Haider split from the party due to internal disputes, and founded the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ). The Freedom Party in Carinthia, then the FPÖ's state branch and led by Haider, changed its allegiance and became the Carinthian branch of the BZÖ. The large majority of its leadership and structure followed, with only a small minority defecting to the FPÖ's new Carinthian branch. Shortly after the 2008 federal election, Haider was killed in a car accident. He was succeeded by Gerhard Dörfler, who became the new Governor of Carinthia and leader of the FPK. In the 2009 Carinthian state election, Dörfler led the party to a strong victory under the name "Freedom Party in Carinthia – BZÖ List Jörg Haider". The FPÖ's new state branch won 3.8%, failing to enter the Landtag.

In December 2009, the FPK split from the BZÖ in protest of new federal leader Josef Bucher's policies, becoming an independent party operating in Carinthia.[4][5] The party announced it would support the FPÖ on a national level, while the FPÖ's state branch would be dissolved. The FPÖ and FPK compared their new relationship to that of the CDU/CSU in Germany.[6] The BZÖ subsequently founded a new Carinthian branch to compete with the FPK.[7]

Between 2009 and 2013, Dörfler's government suffered a string of scandals involving current and former government officials, including the late Haider. In January 2010, Vice Governor Uwe Scheuch was exposed for offering Austrian citizenship to a Russian investor in exchange for investments in Carinthia and donations to the then-BZÖ. Scheuch resigned from all political positions in mid-2012 and was found guilty in December.[8] In July 2012, a government tax consultant was caught up in a corruption scandal involving the FPK and BZÖ, which led to an early election being scheduled for March 2013.[9]

Electoral system

The 36 seats of the Landtag of Carinthia are elected via open list proportional representation in a two-step process. The seats are distributed between four multi-member constituencies. For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must either win at least one seat in a constituency directly, or clear a 5 percent state-wide electoral threshold. Seats are distributed in constituencies according to the Hare quota, with any remaining seats allocated using the D'Hondt method at the state level, to ensure overall proportionality between a party's vote share and its share of seats.[10]

Contesting parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag.

Name Ideology Leader 2009 result
Votes (%) Seats Councillors
FPK Freedom Party in Carinthia
Die Freiheitlichen in Kärnten
Right-wing populism
Euroscepticism
Gerhard Dörfler 44.9%
17 / 36
4 / 7
SPÖ Social Democratic Party of Austria
Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs
Social democracy Peter Kaiser 28.8%
11 / 36
2 / 7
ÖVP Austrian People's Party
Österreichische Volkspartei
Christian democracy Wolfgang Waldner 16.8%
6 / 36
1 / 7
GRÜNE The Greens – The Green Alternative
Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative
Green politics Rolf Holub 5.1%
2 / 36

In addition to the parties already represented in the Landtag, six parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot.

Results

Party Votes % +/− Seats +/− Coun. +/−
Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) 120,396 37.13 +8.39 14 +3 3 +1
Freedom Party in Carinthia (FPK) 54,634 16.85 –28.04 6 –11 1 –3
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) 46,696 14.40 –2.43 5 –1 1 ±0
The Greens – The Green Alternative (GRÜNE) 39,241 12.10 +6.95 5 +3 1 +1
Team Stronach (TS) 36,256 11.18 New 4 New 1 New
Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) 20,745 6.40 New 2 New 0 New
Pirate Party of Austria (PIRAT) 3,199 0.99 New 0 New 0 New
Livable Party of Austria (LPÖ) 1,881 0.58 New 0 New 0 New
Social Alliance Carinthia (ASOK) 747 0.23 New 0 New 0 New
List Strong (STARK) 488 0.15 +0.09 0 ±0 0 ±0
Invalid/blank votes 6,924
Total 331,207 100 36 0 7 0
Registered voters/turnout 440,748 75.15 –6.63
Source: Carinthian Government
Popular vote
SPÖ
37.13%
FPK
16.85%
ÖVP
14.40%
GRÜNE
12.10%
TS
11.18%
BZÖ
6.40%
Other
1.94%
Landtag seats
SPÖ
38.89%
FPK
16.67%
ÖVP
13.89%
GRÜNE
13.89%
TS
11.11%
BZÖ
5.56%

Results by constituency

Constituency SPÖ FPK ÖVP Grüne TS BZÖ Others Total
seats
Turnout
%S %S %S %S %S %S %
Klagenfurt40.0312.4113.3116.519.86.12.0674.9
Carinthia East37.2319.7114.118.910.617.71.8675.8
Villach40.3314.7111.112.8112.715.92.5673.6
Carinthia West30.7220.6119.1110.212.115.71.7576.0
Remaining seats32231213
Total37.11416.8614.4512.1511.146.421.93675.1
Source: Carinthian Government

References

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