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Austrian chancellor steps down after election drubbing

Austria's Chancellor Werner Faymann is stepping down and will also resign as head of the Social Democrats.

Published: 9 May 2016 12:52 CEST
Austrian chancellor steps down after election drubbing
Werner Faymann. Photo: SPOe

He told a press conference on Monday that Austria needed a chancellor whose party stood behind him and that the government needed a new start. 

Faymann's future looked highly uncertain after his party's candidate was knocked out of the presidential race and there were disagreements within the party over the migrant crisis, and whether to cooperate with the right-wing Freedom Party. 

On April 24 the Freedom Party's candidate Norbert Hofer came a clear first in the first round of elections for the largely ceremonial post of president with 35 percent of the vote.

Signing off at the end of the press conference, Faymann said he was stepping down “for Austria” and that he was “extremely thankful to have been able to serve my country”. The SPÖ will announce a new leader later on Monday afternoon. 

The centre-left Faymann, 56, chancellor since 2008, said in a statement that he no longer had “strong backing” in his party, the Social Democrats (SPOe).

“As a result of this insufficient support I am drawing the consequences and resign my functions as party leader and chancellor, effective today,” he said.

The SPOe and its coalition partner since 2008, the centre-right People's Party (OeVP), have dominated Austrian politics since World War II but their support has been sliding in recent years.

At the last general election, in 2013, they only just scratched together a majority, and polls suggest doing so again at the next scheduled vote in 2018 will be difficult.

Mirroring similar trends across Europe, the two main parties have been bleeding support to fringe groups, in Austria's case in particular to the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), the former party of the controversial, late Joerg Haider.

The far-right has tapped into growing unease about immigration after Austria last year saw 90,000 people claim asylum, and around 10 times that number pass through at the high point of Europe's migrant crisis.

But the two parties have also presided over a rise in unemployment, with Austria losing its crown as the EU member with the lowest unemployment. The coalition has also squabbled over structural reforms.

Far-right on the rise

The FPOe is leading national opinion polls and on April 24, in the first round of elections to the largely ceremonial post of president, the FPOe's Norbert Hofer came a clear first with 35 percent.

Hofer, 45, who presents himself as the friendly and reasonable face of the FPOe, will now face Alexander van der Bellen, a former head of the Greens who came second, in a runoff on May 22.

The two hapless candidates from the ruling coalition parties were relegated into distant fourth and fifth places, failing to make it through to the runoff with just 11 percent of the vote each.

This historic failure means that for the first time since 1945, there will not be a president from within these two parties in Vienna's Hofburg palace.

This in turn could mean that the new president might make use of some of the considerable powers afforded to the head of state under Austria's constitution that until now have been not been used.

In theory the Austrian president can fire the government — as Hofer has threatened to do if elected — or dissolve parliament.

It was unclear on Monday who would succeed Faymann, with the government in theory having two more years to govern.

The popular mayor of Vienna, Michael Haeupl, will take over from Faymann on an interim basis as party chief, saying the SPOe needed a “phase of reflection”.

Christian Kern, currently the head of the national railways company, and Gerhard Zeiler, former chief of national broadcaster ORF, have been touted as possible replacements.

(Updated with AFP reporting.)

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MIGRANT CRISIS

How a change in the profile of asylum seekers is impacting Austria

The number of asylum applications has dropped in Austria, but changes in the profile of those arriving are creating new demands and new policies.

Published: 22 April 2024 16:05 CEST
How a change in the profile of asylum seekers is impacting Austria

Asylum policy is a controversial topic in Austria, especially in an election year. The far-right has been pushing its anti-immigration agenda to gather support ahead of federal elections later this year.

While the sheer number of refugees can shape an election, differences in who those refugees are and where they come from also create challenges and demands for government action.

The profile of those seeking asylum in Austria has changed compared to recent years.

In the first quarter of 2024, almost a third of asylum applications came from children between the ages of zero and seven, as Austrian media has reported.

Around 53 percent of applicants are minors, and the proportion of women seeking asylum has also risen significantly. However, the overall number of asylum applications during the period fell by 32 percent compared to the same period the year before. 

Whereas 2023 most asylum applications in Austria were from males (only around 24 percent of applications were submitted by women), the country is now experiencing the “family reunification” phenomenon. In other words the wifes and children are following to seek protection.

Asylum applicants are still mostly from Syria and Afghanistan – two nationalities with a high chance of obtaining protection in Austria. Only 30 percent of applications from Syrians were rejected, whereas for Afghans 39 percent were refused.

READ ALSO: Border centres and ‘safe’ states: The EU’s major asylum changes explained

What does the change in profile mean for Austria?

One immediate consequence of the influx of children has already been seen in Vienna, the destination of most refugees: the school system is overwhelmed with the new arrivals, as several Austrian newspapers have reported in the last few weeks.

“This is putting such a strain on the system that high-quality teaching is hardly possible any more,” Thomas Krebs, a union representative, told Kurier. According to the report, around 300 children will arrive in Vienna every month, resulting in a need for 140 classes by the end of the school year. 

The Austrian capital was already overwhelmed by a shortage of teachers and an overflow of schoolchildren—particularly since the war in Ukraine, when 4,000 children were integrated into Vienna’s schools from February 2022.

The kids coming from Syria also need more support than merely German classes: “The Syrian children who come to us from refugee camps are a particular challenge for the system. Many are traumatised and often not even literate in their own language,” Krebs said.

He added that children need to spend more time in kindergarten—to learn “the basics, not just the language.” The education expert also believes it’s necessary to invest more in extracurricular activities, where young people can learn German, acquire behavioural skills that are important for school, and learn how to spend their free time meaningfully.

READ ALSO: What’s the reason behind the drop in Austrian asylum seeker claims?

What is Vienna doing?

Vienna’s Department of Education points out that new teachers are being recruited. In the current academic year, 2,400 teachers have been hired, Kurier reported.

Director of Education Heinrich Himmer said: “We support pupils and face the challenges together so that learning and living together work well. I would like to thank everyone who works so hard in Vienna’s schools. However, the responsibility for integration is an all-Austrian one, where solutions exist at the federal level.”

How does family reunification work?

There is a special process for granting family reunification rights for family members of refugees in Austria. 

According to information from the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, if a foreigner has been granted asylum status in Austria, family members can apply for an entry permit at an Austrian representation authority abroad within three months of this status being granted.

If this is granted, they can travel to Austria to apply for asylum in the family procedure and receive the same protection status as the reference person. If the application is only submitted after three months, they must also provide proof of adequate accommodation, health insurance, and income.

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