AUSTRIA:THE SOCIAL Democratic party held on to its position as Austria's largest political group in yesterday's general election, but its win was overshadowed by massive gains by two far-right parties.
The ballot resulted in a highly fragmented political landscape that will make it difficult to form a new coalition government.
According to preliminary results the Social Democrats slid from 35 to 29.7 per cent, a better showing than opinion polls predicted, while its current coalition partner, the centre-right People's Party, tumbled from 34 per cent to a disastrous 25.6 per cent.
It was a historical low for the two parties that had dominated the country's political system since 1945 and ruled jointly in a grand coalition for most of that time.
On the far-right, the radical Freedom Party rose from 11 to 18 per cent, and its slightly more moderate rival, the Alliance for Austria's Future (BZÖ), jumped from 4 to 11 per cent.
The leaders of the two parties, Heinz-Christian Strache and Jörg Haider, have been bitter rivals since Mr Haider broke away from the Freedom Party in 2005 to set up his own group. Without that split, commentators noted, the far-right camp could now be the dominant political force in the country.
Political analyst Peter Filzmaier, however, does not see a real shift to the right. The elections reflect "massive discontent with the political class and the policies of the previous government", he said.
The two openly populist leaders benefited from unhappiness with the constant squabbling in the two-year-old coalition between Social Democrats and the People's Party, a strong anti-European mood and anger over rising prices.
The return of the charismatic Mr Haider to the national arena gave his BZÖ an unexpectedly strong boost and pulled votes away in particular from the People's Party.
The outcome leaves few options for a stable government.
Social Democratic leader Werner Faymann, who replaced departing chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer earlier this year and ran a strong campaign, could attempt to revive the coalition with the People's Party, but the two parties would have only a slim majority in the 183-seat parliament and might be even less compatible than in the past.
"Another grand coalition between Faymann and a new People's Party leadership is the most likely outcome," says political consultant Thomas Hofer.
"But there may be voices in the People's Party that will call for an opposition role." Wilhelm Molterer, People's Party leader, who called the snap elections in July to protest against the Social Democrats' shift to a more EU-sceptical position, is widely expected to resign after his poor showing.
He and Mr Molterer repeatedly ruled out an alliance with the Freedom Party because of its radically anti-foreigner and anti-European stance.
The BZÖ and the environmental Greens, which fell from 11 to 9.8 per cent, are both too weak to deliver a majority for any party on their own and ruled out a coalition with each other.
Alternatively, Mr Faymann may try to form a stand-alone minority government that will rely on shifting majorities in parliament. Such an arrangement, however, would be a break with political traditions. - ( Financial Timesservice)