The People’s Party’s federal executive committee determined the first 30 places by circular resolution on Friday. Fourth to sixth place are taken by Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler, Upper Austrian State Councillor Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer and Family Minister Susanne Raab.
In seventh place is Secretary General Christian Stocker, in eighth place is ÖVP women’s leader and National Council member Juliane Bogner-Strauß, in ninth place is Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig, who leads the ÖVP Tyrol in the election, and in tenth place is Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner, who is ranked second in Lower Austria.
In 2019, the ÖVP won eight seats via the federal list. There will be no preferential vote election campaign with its own model; the party is relying on the statutory system.
Current VP government team largely secured
The current black government team is largely secured on federal and state lists, with Interior Minister Gerhard Karner at the top of the Lower Austrian list. Martin Kocher, who is not on the federal list, is considered a promising candidate for the job of the new OeNB governor. Brunner is also considered a candidate for a top job, namely that of EU Commissioner. He is not only high up on the federal list, but is also the top candidate for Vorarlberg.
As expected from media reports, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg is no longer running, and Education Minister Martin Polaschek is also not on the federal list. In theory, however, he might still run on the Styrian list. Club chairman August Wöginger heads the Upper Austrian state list.
“The party in the middle”
Male and female candidates are alternately ranked on the list. The federal list would cover every federal state and a wide range of professional sectors, Stocker is quoted as saying in a press release. The federal and state lists would also show that the ÖVP is “the party at the heart of our society,” emphasized top candidate Nehammer.
He said he was “proud to be able to lead this strong team and to seek the trust of the people and the mandate to continue to shape the country over the next three months.” They are “more than confident that our Chancellor will be Karl Nehammer once more in the autumn,” said Stocker. The ÖVP received 37.5 percent of the vote in the 2019 National Council election with Sebastian Kurz as its top candidate, but this year it must expect a loss.