A legislative snap election for the National Council in Austria was held on 28 September 2008. The previous election was held on 1 October 2006. The election (the 24th in Austrian history) was caused by the withdrawal of Austrian People's Party leader Wilhelm Molterer from the governing grand coalition (led by the Social Democratic Party of Austria) on 7 July 2008. Due to dissatisfaction with the grand coalition and the two main parties, it was widely expected to be a realigning election, with gains for the opposition and up to seven parties expected to be in the National Council after the election. The losses for the government parties (both the SPÖ and the ÖVP had the worst election result in history) resulted in strong gains for the far right, while neither the Liberal Forum nor the Citizens' Forum Austria (both of which were considered to have chances of gaining seats) gained as much as 2% of the vote, defying earlier expectations. The result of the election was seen as strong for the far-right and in support of Eurosceptics.
Molterer resigned as party chairman as a result of the losses suffered by the ÖVP and was replaced by environment minister Josef Pröll; the Greens' federal spokesman Alexander Van der Bellen (in office since 1997) also resigned and was replaced by his deputy, Eva Glawischnig. Due to the LIF's failure to enter parliament on its own, LIF founder Heide Schmidt and financier Hans-Peter Haselsteiner both declared their complete withdrawal from politics, and the LIF's fate was seen as uncertain. Shortly after the election, BZÖ leader and Carinthian governor Jörg Haider died in a car accident.
Parties
Parliamentary parties
Social Democratic Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria was led by infrastructure minister Werner Faymann and not by the incumbent chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, as the party had decided to have a single person as party leader and leading candidate again. Faymann officially became party leader on 8 August 2008. The SPÖ announced it would not form a coalition with the FPÖ. On 20 July 2008, Faymann announced he would prefer it if Molterer would not be part of the next government, but also stated he was open to a new attempt at a grand coalition with new personalities; on 23 August 2008 he specifically mentioned agriculture minister Josef Pröll as his preferred partner. He reiterated his calls for a new grand coalition on 20 September 2008. Some members of the Carinthian SPÖ, most notably mayor of Villach Helmut Manzenreiter, were open to an SPÖ–FPÖ coalition, but the party base was strongly against this idea.
There were rumours that Gusenbauer would become foreign minister after the election, which were encouraged when he was frequently abroad during the time of the election campaign. There were also suggestions he would be nominated to become European Commissioner after the 2009 European Parliament election if the SPÖ won the legislative election. Both of these possible offices for Gusenbauer appeared to be unlikely after the election, however. Faymann announced on 20 September 2008 that he would like to regain the finance ministry from the ÖVP in the government to be formed after the election, and that education minister Claudia Schmied would be his preferred finance minister.
President Heinz Fischer (also from the SPÖ) said that he understood the need for early elections and stated that he would be open to three-party governments and minority governments (both of which would be a first in Austrian political history, but will likely be necessary to avoid another grand coalition). He also called for quick coalition negotiations.
In its election program, the SPÖ repeated its calls for abolishing university tuition fees and introducing a comprehensive school (Gesamtschule) for teenagers aged 10 to 14 instead of the early differentiation between Hauptschule and Gymnasium; it also called for providing all-day child care across the country, relief for lower and middle incomes and an additional increase of pensions to keep up with inflation.
SPÖ MP and university spokesman Josef Broukal announced his withdrawal from politics shortly after the election had been called over the second failed attempt to abolish university tuition fees. On 22 July 2008 SPÖ state secretary for infrastructure Christa Kranzl announced she would not stand in the election due to personal differences between her and Faymann and problems with support from her local party. An internet initiative called for her to remain in politics, and she stated on 21 August 2008 that she might reconsider her move if asked by Faymann to continue her work in government; on 4 September 2008 she announced that she had now changed her mind and would like to be part of the next government. Rudolf Parnigoni, Robert Rada, Anita Fleckl and Peter Marizzi, all SPÖ MPs, will also retire. Carinthian SPÖ chairwoman and state councillor Gaby Schaunig resigned from all of her offices, accusing governor Jörg Haider from the BZÖ of mobbing and insulting her; Reinhart Rohr officially replaced her on 23 August 2008. Long-time SPÖ MP Erwin Niederwieser announced on 29 July 2008 that he would retire. Justice minister Maria Berger announced on 4 August 2008 in an interview with the Kurier that she would like to remain in office after the election; while she said it would be easier to push through some reforms in a coalition other than the grand coalition, she was not against continuing the coalition, and even stated that she disagreed with the Greens on introducing same-sex marriage. Defence minister Norbert Darabos announced on 5 August 2008 that he would like to stay in office and warned against a revival of the ÖVP–FPÖ coalition.
Social minister Erwin Buchinger announced on 30 July 2008 that he would not stand for parliament; while he claimed that it would be up to Faymann whether he would stay on as social minister, it was rumoured that Faymann would choose someone from the Austrian Trade Union Federation as social minister instead, due to tradition and the need for reconciliation with the unions. While Buchinger stated on 2 August 2008 he was not tired of politics and was not at all ruling out staying on as social minister, president of the National Council Barbara Prammer (also SPÖ) said that possible successors for Buchinger as social minister would be Renate Csörgits, chairwoman of the social issues committee in the National Council, and family issues spokeswoman Andrea Kuntzl. On 3 August 2008, ÖVP social issues spokesman Werner Amon laid claim to the social ministry after the election, declaring that this would be an issue in coalition talks after the election; the SPÖ immediately denounced this claim. The Faction of Social Democratic Unionists (Fraktion Sozialdemokratischer Gewerkschafter), the SPÖ's union wing, also laid claims to the social ministry, although some union leaders stated that the incumbent Buchinger would also count as being from the unions, as his position and activities within the Public Employment Service Austria (Arbeitsmarktservice Österreich) were proof enough of his unionist mindset.
A number of important high-ranking former SPÖ officials and SPÖ supporters wrote an open letter to the SPÖ, which was published on 5 August 2008, in which they criticised the current course the SPÖ was taking under Faymann's leadership; Faymann rejected their criticism the following day.
Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party went into the election with vice chancellor Wilhelm Molterer as its leader. The ÖVP stated it would try to form a three-party coalition before attempting another grand coalition, though some internal voices have dissented from that; the ÖVP did also not explicitly rule out a coalition with FPÖ or BZÖ, but stated that its coalition partners would have to be clearly supportive of the EU, thus strongly indicating a preference for a coalition with the Greens. Former ÖVP leader and former chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel stated on 1 August 2008 that he was against a coalition involving Faymann's SPÖ, but also claimed that there would be a "change of thinking" (Umdenken) in the SPÖ after the election. President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Christoph Leitl, well known for his preference of the grand coalition, refused to state his preferences before the election. Some (especially ÖVP members in Vorarlberg) voiced their preference for another ÖVP–FPÖ coalition. Molterer stated on 5 August 2008 that he had nothing against three-party coalitions and would also consider a minority government.
Molterer was considered to be under strong internal pressure at the beginning of the election campaign; the party leaders from Lower Austria (Erwin Pröll), Upper Austria (Josef Pühringer) and Styria (Hermann Schützenhöfer) have all criticised his leadership at some point, though they later stated they had set their differences aside. In late August 2008, rumours surfaced according to which Molterer was planned to be replaced by agriculture minister Josef Pröll if the ÖVP lost the election, or even before the election if the polls continued to show a likely defeat for the ÖVP. The ÖVP (including Pröll himself) strongly denied these allegations.
ÖVP vice federal chairwoman, vice state chairwoman for Tyrol and former state councillor Elisabeth Zanon resigned all her party offices and even publicly considered renouncing her party membership after she was not confirmed as a Tyrolean state councillor in the new cabinet of former interior minister and new governor Günther Platter after the 2008 election in Tyrol, stating that the new political style was unacceptable to her. ÖVP MP and former state secretary for infrastructure Helmut Kukacka announced on 23 July 2008 that he would also stand down from politics and go into business instead. Carinthian ÖVP MP Klaus Auer also retired, stating his dislike for the current kind of politics in Carinthia (referring especially to Haider's populist actions). MPs Karl Freund, Walter Murauer and Edeltraud Lentsch will also retire. Health minister Andrea Kdolsky said she would like to stay on as minister and initially claimed that it had not yet been decided whether she would stand as a candidate on the ÖVP's lists, but later announced she would not stand on the party's lists. On 20 August 2008, it became apparent that Kdolsky would not serve any political function after the election, reportedly because of internal dissent over her popularity; she had reportedly been strongly lobbied by many party members to withdraw from politics. Economy minister Martin Bartenstein announced he would not be willing to stay as minister in a government led by Faymann, voicing preferences for an ÖVP–FPÖ–BZÖ coalition instead. When Faymann stated that he would lay claim to the foreign ministry for the SPÖ after the election in coalition negotiations, Schüssel strongly rebuked him on 5 September 2008, criticising the SPÖ's party line on the EU and on foreign affairs in general.
The only new point in the ÖVP's election program, presented on 31 August 2008, was the call for an income-contingent child benefit; the SPÖ, the Greens and the LIF were strongly in favour of the new proposal, while the FPÖ and the BZÖ were sceptical. Despite the support for the idea, it was considered unlikely that the proposed changes would be passed into law in the parliamentary sessions in September (see below). The ÖVP announced on 8 September 2008 that it would seek citizens' input on a number of campaign promises to which it would consider itself bound in coalition negotiations under a scheme which it called "citizens' contract" (Bürgervertrag); the performance of the ÖVP would be controlled by a "council of the wise" (Weisenrat). The ÖVP has stated it would like former president of the Court of Auditors Franz Fiedler as chairman of this council.
Freedom Party of Austria