Surprise victory for the Communist Party in Graz, the country’s second largest city

Even the person concerned finds the feat “more than surprising”. While her party weighs very little elsewhere in Austria, a Communist candidate won the municipal elections in the country’s second city handily on Sunday.

The Austrian Communist Party KPÖ came out on top in Graz, according to preliminary results. Its 59-year-old candidate Elke Kahr won 29.1% of the votes cast (+ 8.8%), against 25.7% (-12.1%) for outgoing conservative Siegfried Nagl of the ÖVP party, in post for 18 years, which announced his resignation. This score had not been anticipated by the polls.

A coalition to be formed

“Some people make promises a few weeks before the elections. We have been there every day and for years for people, especially for the poorest, ”said Elke Kahr to explain this success.

Austria’s second largest city with more than 220,000 voters, Graz often gives the Communist Party a lot of votes. Alongside the far right and the Greens, the KPÖ was part of the previous municipal team led by the conservatives and had two deputies, in charge of transport, health and social affairs. He has not yet revealed with which formations he intends to form a coalition to govern.