The election in Austria’s second-largest city, Graz in Styria, brought the KPÖ a clear victory. According to preliminary results, the left-wing party gained around seven percentage points, reaching 35.6 percent. This consolidates the KPÖ’s position as the strongest political force in the city of around 350,000 residents.
It is the KPÖ’s second consecutive election win. In 2021, KPÖ politician Elke Kahr had surprisingly won the municipal election, ousting the conservative ÖVP from the mayor’s office. The 64-year-old mayor focuses her policies on affordable housing, infrastructure, and proximity to citizens. A large portion of the communist councilors’ salaries goes into a social fund for people in need.
Graz result contrasts sharply with the national mood in Austria: In polls for the national election, the far-right FPÖ leads far ahead of the conservative ÖVP and all other parties. The KPÖ plays almost no role at the federal level.
Source: Stadt München
