Upper Austria parties prepare for 2027 state election

Political parties in Upper Austria are already preparing for the 2027 state election, although no official date has been set, ORF reports. The earliest regular date would be 26 September 2027, a Sunday four weeks before the end of the legislative term.

Party-commissioned opinion polls have so far produced differing results, with the election widely seen in Upper Austria as a decisive one.

The Austrian People’s Party, or ÖVP, is focusing on what it calls “hard work”. Governor Thomas Stelzer has maintained a high public profile at companies and at ground-breaking ceremonies for projects including the Linz Westring motorway and a new centre for developmental medicine. The party is seeking to benefit from the governor’s popularity, with 59 percent of respondents saying they had a high opinion of Stelzer in one poll.

The Freedom Party, or FPÖ, launched its autumn campaign in early September after its deputy governor, Manfred Haimbuchner, had kept a lower public profile over the summer. Its posters carry the slogan “A homeland needs conviction”. The party said the campaign was not yet an election campaign, while presenting its first policy focus: replacing hospital outpatient departments with private doctors’ clinics to reduce state spending on hospitals.

The Social Democratic Party, or SPÖ, is taking an aggressive approach, particularly towards the FPÖ, in an effort to stop further losses in Upper Austrian state elections. Party leader Martin Winkler is focusing on alternative energy. He will contest an election for the first time in 2027 and has already visited more than 4,000 homes. Following the slogan “Winkler works”, the SPÖ is now using “More Martin”.

The Greens have also been seeking direct contact with voters for months, especially by telephone. On Tuesday, they extended a campaign featuring their lead candidate, state councillor Stefan Kaineder. “Call me” appears alongside his publicly listed mobile number. Kaineder wants personal conversations to help address voters’ frustration with politics.

Neos will be the first party in Upper Austria to formally select its lead candidate and state election list, doing so next Saturday. State party leader and parliamentary group leader Felix Eypeltauer has faced a rival for the top position and has spent months campaigning to prevent the party from losing its place in the state parliament after narrowly entering it in 2021 with 4.2 percent of the vote. He has toured Upper Austria while focusing on the party’s core issue of education.

MFG, or “People, Freedom, Fundamental Rights”, entered the state parliament clearly in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic under leader Joachim Aigner. It won 6.2 percent, outperforming Neos, but pollsters currently see no prospect of the party retaining any of its three seats six years later.