Austria: Social Democrats slip in polls

The latest opinion poll in Austria shows the centre-left Social Democrats losing some of their slender lead to their conservative coalition partners, with just three days to go the parliamentary election.

The survey puts Werner Faymann’s SPÖ just two percentage points ahead of the People’s Party, slipping from a three percent lead in recent surveys.

Both parties look set for a comfortable majority, but it was the conservative leader Wilhelm Molterer who sparked this election by pulling the plug on the existing coalition after an acrimonious 18 months in power.

The Green party could also surge past the four percent threshold to enter the 183-seat parliament, raising the possibility of complex coalition talks after Sunday’s vote. Some observers believe the electorate is fed-up with the left-right coalition of recent years.

The rise of the right-wing in the form of the Freedom Party and the Alliance for Austria’s Future could complicate the shape of the forthcoming government even more. The polls suggest they are heading for a ten-point gain compared with the last election two years ago.

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