The conservative ÖVP and the social democrat SPÖ parties suffered historic defeats during a state election on Sunday in Lower Austria, whilst the far-right continues to enjoy rapid growth.

The country’s largest state, Lower Austria is the heartland of the Austrian conservatives. As well as Chancellor Karl Nehammer, a number of key ÖVP ministers are from this state.

During Sunday’s election, their hold on Lower Austria was seriously undermined. According to the preliminary results, under 40% of people voted for the party, leading to the worst result ever for Lower Austria’s conservatives.

With all-time high voter participation of around 72%, the ÖVP’s absolute majority in Lower Austria is no more. According to Spitzenkandidat Johanna Mikl-Leitner, her party is seeking to form a government with the social democrat SPÖ or the far-right FPÖ, Euractiv reports.

Along with the ÖVP, the social democrats were also one of the biggest losers in this election. Around 20% of the vote fell short of forecasts, faced with a highly unpopular conservative-green government in Vienna.

Furthermore, right-wing extremists stormed ÖVP’s offices in Lower Austria when voters were heading to the polls. 

“Today, right-wing extremist identitarians have once again shown the danger they pose to democracy,” said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, a conservative from Lower Austria. He went on to refer to the leader of Austria’s far-right FPÖ, Herbert Kickl, describing the invaders as his “friends.”

With gains of over 10%, the FPÖ, the clear victor of Sunday’s state election, received around 25% of the vote. As such, the party looks set to win the 2024 Austrian federal election.

In addition, the Greens and the liberal NEOS party in Lower Austria made minor gains, each receiving around 6.5% of the vote.