Politics

Tomorrow is voting day here in Austria, an event preceded by the obligatory campaign hysteria. Although advertisements are to be seen and heard everywhere and the press has whipped itself up into a frenzy, this is more subdued than the maniacal barrage we experienced in Ohio in 2004. For an outside observer who can't vote I take a good degree of interest in the matter. Those of you familiar with European parliamentary system probably already know that it is quite different from our own two-party system. Here they have a quite practical thing known as proportional representation. This means that each party receives a proportion of seats in the parliament corresponding to their percentage of the vote taken. As a result, many governments are formed via coalitions between parties. Here is a quick overview of the Austrian parties:

ÖVP (Österreichische Volkspartei - black): The current leader in the polls with 37%, this is a center right party whose platform is based on economic conservatism, lower taxes, and support for business leaders. The current chancellor, Wolfgang Schüssel, is a member of the ÖVP and was recently caught in a scandal. He has claimed that Austria has an adequate health care system and there is no need for reform or the use of foreign caretakers in old folks' homes. However, it was discovered that he was paying a Slovakian woman (referred to in the media as "Frau Maria") €2,40 an hour to take care of his geriatric mother-in-law. This has damaged the party's reputation, however they are still enjoying a slight lead in the polls.

SPÖ (Sozialistische Partei Österreichs - red) Here are your classic European social-democrats, who are promising "new fairness" for the country, more daycare centers, and the abolition of tuition for state universities. This along with support for the working man and other social benefits comprise the party platform. They currently have an approval rating of 35%, so they are in a very close race with the ÖVP.

Grüne Partei (Green): The far-left environmentalist party supports initiatives for alternative energy (but against nuclear power), public transport, and proposes to change gender discrimination in salaries, noting that women are paid about a third worse than men in the private sector. Some pundits have charged the party with obsolescence, as the environmental issues which form the staple of their platform have become a mainstream credo for all European parties and the general populace sees environmentalism as self-evident. Certainly the party had their place in the 70's and 80's before this was the case. If only we could be so advanced in the states! They do, however, retain a crucial role in parliament with 11% of the vote. Should the reds come to power, they would be an obvious choice for a coalition, although party leaders have also proposed a coalition with the blacks, which would make for some odd bedfellows.

FPÖ (Freiheitspartei Österreich - blue): These are Austria's right-wing and xenophobic nuts. They promise "Austria instead of Islam", "German instead of not understanding anything", are extremely critical of the EU, and want to beef of security of existing border crossing and prevent the opening of new ones (which is currently underway). These sentiments are attractive to some, as they have 9-10% of the vote.

BZÖ (Bündnis Zukunft Österreich -orange): This party formed as a splinter group from the FPÖ, and are practically indistinguishable from them. They are constantly getting into squabbles with the FPÖ, most recently over the right to call themselves "Die Freiheitlichen", a rip off of the FPÖ's slogan "Die Freiheitspartei". A judge ruled against them and they had to change the slogan. This is amusing, but nothing that is taken very seriously by the public. They currently have about 4% in the polls.

KPÖ (Kommunischtische Partei Österreichs): Yes, the communist party still exists. They have enjoyed some recent success with the election of a communist governor in Styria, who is apparently quite charismatic and philanthropic and has been effective in following through on his promises within the province. On the national level they only have 1% or less of the vote.

Who would you vote for??