From Crisis Governance to Electoral Normality and the Longest Coalition Negotiations

Author(s)
Manuel Scharrer, Christina Gahn, Jana Bernhard-Harrer, Marvin Stecker, Julia Partheymüller
Abstract

The 2024 Austrian parliament election reflects both continuity and transformation within the political landscape of the country. Following a turbulent inter-election period marked by multiple crises, the campaign and its outcome echoed patterns from the 2017 election, with migration regaining prominence as a key voter priority and the populist radical right FPÖ reclaiming its voter base previously lost in the 2019 snap election. This time, however, the FPÖ emerged as the largest party for the first time, though it failed to translate this historic success into government participation. Following the longest and most complex government formation in Austrian history, the Christian democratic ÖVP, social democratic SPÖ, and liberal NEOS formed the nation’s first three-party coalition since the immediate post-war period. Overall, the election showed the persistence of familiar political patterns, while also highlighting the growing difficulty of coalition building in an increasingly polarised party system.

Organisation(s)
Department of Government, Department of Communication
Journal
West European Politics
Pages
1-20
ISSN
0140-2382
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2025.2535021
Publication date
2025
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
506014 Comparative politics, 504023 Political sociology, 506012 Political systems
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Sociology and Political Science
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/f1af12f5-27a5-4346-b19f-0f1313a3d0d8