The SPÖ has won the Vienna election and remains clearly the number one party in the federal capital, despite slight losses. According to the Foresight projection for APA and ORF, the Social Democrats reach 39.4 percent, putting them well ahead of the FPÖ, which increased its share to 20.4 percent. While the Greens surprisingly maintained their 2020 result, the ÖVP is expected to plummet into single digits. Since NEOS gained support, the red-pink coalition (SPÖ and NEOS) should continue to hold a majority.

Even with the Greens and the ÖVP, Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) should be able to form a majority, meaning the same situation exists as five years ago. A coalition with the FPÖ has been ruled out by the SPÖ.

FPÖ Achieves the Biggest Gains

Looking at the detailed results: with 39.4 percent, the SPÖ would suffer a loss of two percentage points. The FPÖ would rise from 7.1 to 20.4 percent. The Greens would reach 14.6 percent, just below their record result of 14.8 percent in 2020. The NEOS would gain two points, achieving 9.8 percent— their best result in Vienna to date. Only 9.6 percent are being counted for the ÖVP, which would mean a loss of nearly eleven points. The KPÖ, with 4.1 percent, and Team HC Strache, with 1.1 percent, are unlikely to enter the state parliament.

Mayor Ludwig interpreted the SPÖ’s result as a “strong vote of confidence from Vienna’s population.” He did not reveal with whom he intends to form a coalition during the top candidates’ roundtable on ORF. He plans to hold exploratory talks with the current partner NEOS, the Greens, and the ÖVP to see where the best content-related cooperation opportunities lie. The goal is to have a city government formed before the summer. The exploratory talks should begin next week, he said on “Puls24.” At the end of these discussions, there should be a partner with whom real coalition negotiations will start. Federal party leader Andreas Babler praised the result, calling it a “great success and a strong mandate for a Social Democratic-led Vienna.”

Nepp Calls for an End to FPÖ Exclusion

FPÖ lead candidate Dominik Nepp unsuccessfully urged Ludwig to end the exclusion of the Freedom Party. He sees the resurgence of the FPÖ as an expression of the desire for change. However, the mayor remains firm in his stance of not engaging in coalition negotiations with the FPÖ as long as politicians convicted of Nazi reactivation (Wiederbetätigung) remain active in the party. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl, on the other hand, saw the result as a “slap in the face” for the mayor.

Green lead candidate Judith Pühringer expressed gratitude for her party’s result, describing it as an unprecedented comeback. She would like to form a coalition with the SPÖ and sees common ground, for example, in housing and education policies. Federal spokesperson Werner Kogler interpreted the vote as the electorate’s desire for the Greens to return to the state government after a five-year absence.

Vienna’s Deputy Mayor Bettina Emmerling (NEOS) was pleased with the best result ever achieved by the Liberals in Vienna. “Of course,” NEOS aims to continue the good work with the SPÖ. Federal party leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger felt confirmed by NEOS’s strong result, saying it shows that even a small party can succeed in government if it tackles difficult issues.

For ÖVP lead candidate Karl Mahrer, the losses were expected. He said he has a very clear plan for the upcoming exploratory talks and emphasized that he will certainly be a contact person for Ludwig. When asked whether he was considering personal consequences, he did not give a direct answer.

Waiting for District Results

In addition to the composition of the state parliament and city council, the district councils were also elected on Sunday. These results are expected later in the evening. There is anticipation over whether the FPÖ will secure a district leader position again, with the greatest chances being in Simmering and Floridsdorf.