The election winners were Dankl (KPÖ) and Auinger (SPÖ).
©APA/BARBARA GINDLE
In the municipal elections in the city of Mozart, the KPÖ achieved a goal that almost all parties had set before the election: reaching non-voters. This is shown by the analysis of statistics professor Erich Neuwirth. The biggest gains came from the SPÖ, but more than 1,000 Salzburg residents who voted for the Greens and ÖVP in 2019 also had their crosses in deep red this time.
Neuwirth uses results from 153 electoral districts to analyze his voter turnout. As postal ballots were not allocated to districts, he examined only ballot box ballots. In 2024, the proportion of postal votes was 20.2 percent. In Sunday's local council elections, the SPÖ topped the state capital with 25.6 percent, followed by KPÖ Plus (23.1), ÖVP (20.8), Greens (12.7), FPÖ (10.8) NEOS (3.5) and SALT. Listing (2.7).
At 4,200, the majority of KPÖ voters did not vote by mail or with another minor party in 2019 (Neuwirth summarizes these three groups under “NBS”, the group with the most non-voters). The SPÖ managed to get around 2,800 votes. 1,000 votes from the ÖVP and the Greens and 1,300 votes for the Communists in 2019 ultimately helped K-Michael Donkel's party to second place.
A total of 63,000 votes were cast in a polling station last Sunday. In addition to losing several votes to the KPÖ, the SPÖ lost about 1,000 votes to the FPÖ, but managed to gain votes primarily from the ÖVP (2,400) and the FPÖ (1,400). The ÖVP lost the most to the SPÖ, but lost more than 2,000 votes to the FPÖ and 1,000 votes each to the KPÖ and the Green Party. The FPÖ almost lost to the SPÖ, but managed to get 1,000 votes from the SPÖ and 2,100 from the ÖVP.
In his analysis, Neuwirth divides counties into three socio-economic groups. The ÖVP lost almost everywhere, with relatively small losses only in wealthy urban areas. The SPÖ managed to win most electoral districts, but also suffered losses, especially in districts with low socio-economic status.
In attracting non-voters, the KPÖ was ahead of other parties. In the most socioeconomically weak areas, almost the same number of former “NBS” voters voted for the SPÖ and the KPÖ in 2024. Parties shifted from the NBS to the KPÖ in the middle-class and wealthy areas, and to a lesser extent to the Greens in the middle-class areas and the FPÖ in the affluent areas. Voter turnout has increased in almost all the districts. Analysis is available.
