In the runoff held for the mayorship of Salzburg, Austria’s fourth-largest city, on March 24, the incumbent deputy mayor Bernhard Auinger from the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) emerged victorious. Auinger secured 63.1% of the votes polled, a significant lead over the runner-up Kay-Michael Dankl from the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) who won 36.9% votes. Following the declaration of the results, the mayor-elect Auinger has stated he will try his best to address the soaring housing crisis and would like to put Kay-Michael Dankl himself in charge of housing affairs of the city administration.
Earlier, on March 10, in the municipal elections held in the Austrian federal state of Salzburg, the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) made significant gains in the Salzburg city council by securing 10 seats, a jump from the just one seat it had previously. The KPÖ is close behind the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) which secured 11 seats. The first round of the mayoral election was also held this day and Bernhard Auinger and Kay-Michael Dankl secured 29.4% and 28% votes respectively and qualified for the runoff. Meanwhile, the ruling Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) has slid to third position in Salzburg city while retaining the majority of municipal councils and mayorships in the state. The communists made gains elsewhere in the Salzburg state, having secured two seats in Wals-Siezenheim and one in Hallein.
According to reports, with the SPÖ victory in Salzburg, five out of nine provincial capital cities in Austria including Vienna, Bregenz, Linz, and St. Pölten are now in SPÖ control, while the incumbent Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) led by Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer is holding power just in Eisenstadt. The second-largest city in Austria, Graz, has a communist mayor, Elke Kahr from KPÖ, since November 2021.
On Sunday, the Salzburg committee of the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) stated “From 2.4% in 2019 to around 37% in 2024 – we say THANK YOU! This is a strong sign of social and affordable living in Salzburg politics. Kay is now going to be the vice mayor to take care of affordable housing.”
In Salzburg, communists under the leadership of Kay-Michael Dankle have been campaigning on issues such as the housing crisis and the cost of living crisis, that the major parties have failed to tackle. With the surge in their popularity in cities including Salzburg and Graz, Austrian communists are in an upbeat mood and hope to enter the Austrian National Council in the parliamentary elections this year. A recent report by Europe Elects shows 5% of voting intentions for the KPÖ, which would be enough for them to get into the parliament.
