Photo Gallery Election Results in Austria
Voter dissatisfaction with the SPÖ-ÖVP coalition was more than evident in the Sept. 2008 parliamentary elections. The winners were members of the right-wing parties, such as those of the BZÖ shown celebrating their 11.01 percent of the vote.
Jörg Haider, head of the BZÖ, cast his vote Sunday with his wife Claudia: "I expect that we will reach a good result in the voting booth."
Haider's party received almost three times as many votes as it did in the 2006 elections. The SPÖ had to settle for 29.7 percent of the vote, a 5.6-percent loss from the 2006 results.
Wilhelm Molterer and his center-right People's Party (ÖVP) party only got 25.6 percent of the vote. This marks the first time in modern Austrian history that the two largest political parties have gotten less than 30 percent of the vote.
Werner Faymann took control of Austria's Social Democrats after a split in the coalition led to a palace revolt in the party in the summer of 2008. The coalition parties accomplished little more than fighting among themselves.
Heinz Christian Strache is the leader of the FPÖ party. He took over leadership of the party after Haider left the party in 2005 and founded the BZÖ.
Haider and Strache both seemed delighted on Sunday evening, though the two have completely fallen out with each other.
Alexander Van der Bellen is one of the Greens leaders. His party brought in almost 10 percent of the vote, losing a little over 1 percent since the 2006 election.
Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer and others will now have to deal with an emboldened right, which could be as strong as the SPÖ if their leaders can get past their animosities.
