By Anne-France White - 1st October 2006
Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel’s conservative party suffered a surprise defeat in the Austrian general election on October 1.
In a neck-and-neck race, the social democrats (SPÖ) got 35.8 per cent of the votes while Schüssel’s ÖVP lost eight per cent to end up at 35.3 per cent.
The outcome has come as a surprise to Austrian analysts, who had widely predicted a win for Schüssel.
In spite of helping to foster economic growth in Austria, Schüssel appears to have suffered from popular unease with reforms such as the overhaul of the pension system.
Social democrat leader Alfred Gusenbauer won after promising to reduce unemployment, to cut taxes for middle-income families and spend more on education.
The chancellor partly also lost support to two far-right parties which have played on Austria’s euroscepticism and fear of immigration, as well as to a new protest group led by MEP Hans-Peter Martin.
Speculation is now rife as to which parties will enter the new Austrian government.
The SPÖ and ÖVP seem likely to form a “grand coalition” led by Gusenbauer, similar to the government formed last year by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
If they fail to do so, either party will need at least two smaller coalition partners in order to gain the required majority.
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