The ÖVP government members in particular were able to improve their ratings in the APA/OGM trust index at the end of the legislative period. Opposition politicians such as Neos leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger and FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl also had better ratings than in May. The few losers include SPÖ leader Andreas Babler and Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens).
Kocher moved up to second place
With the exception of Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig, who lost one point and now has a balance of “trust” and “no trust” of minus 15, all ÖVP ministers have gained trust compared to May. The steepest increase was for Economics Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP), who, as the future OeNB governor, gained 10 trust points and is now in second place in the ranking with a balance of 13 behind Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen (minus 3 to 20).
Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) also received a farewell round of applause or a vote of confidence for the next step in his career. After his nomination as Austrian EU Commissioner, he gained six points and now has a positive balance of three trust points.
His party colleagues, Chancellor Karl Nehammer, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (both plus 5) and Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (plus 6), were able to make up a similar amount. On balance, however, all three are still in the negative range: Nehammer and Edtstadler clearly with minus 22 and 25 respectively, Schallenberg just barely with minus 3.
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The ÖVP government members Susanne Raab (plus 4 to minus 17), Gerhard Karner (plus 4 to minus 21), Martin Polaschek (plus 4 to minus 30), Klaudia Tanner (plus 3 to minus 25) and Claudia Plakolm (plus 3 to minus 26) also recorded increases in trust. Even the President of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP), who is traditionally not very trusted, was able to gain five trust points at the end of his term in office, but remains at the bottom of the trust ranking with a balance of minus 50.
OGM boss Wolfgang Bachmayer suspects that the unexpected success of the Chancellor’s party in the European elections in June is the reason for the surprising positive change, especially among the ÖVP government members. The ÖVP is also likely to have scored points in terms of trust in the current election campaign.
No such increase in trust can be observed in the Green coalition partner. There is no change in the case of Social Minister Johannes Rauch (plus 5) and Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (minus 24), Justice Minister Alma Zadic has gained slightly (plus 1 to plus 1), while Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler has lost trust as a result of the dispute over renaturation (minus 5 to minus 26).
In the opposition, Neos leader Meinl-Reisinger (plus 6 to minus 3) and FPÖ leader Kickl (plus 5 to minus 42) gained ground, but the latter remains in second to last place. SPÖ leader Babler, on the other hand, lost trust (minus 6 to minus 29). Meanwhile, the Viennese SPÖ top candidate and second National Council President Doris Bures (plus 2 to plus 12) gained ground, as her criticism of Babler’s election program became public shortly before the survey period.
For the APA-OGM trust index, 1,087 representatively selected Austrians aged 16 and over were surveyed online. The survey was conducted from August 26 to August 28. The maximum fluctuation range is +/- 3.0 percentage points.
