Mikl-Leitner to lead ÖVP into Lower Austria’s 2028 election

Lower Austria Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner will lead the ÖVP’s list in the 2028 state election, the party decided on Thursday, ORF reported. The ÖVP’s state executive also approved its lead team.

Mikl-Leitner, the party’s state leader, will head the list for the third time. The team also includes her deputy Stephan Pernkopf, State Councillor Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister, State Councillor Anton Kasser, state parliament president Karl Wilfing, parliamentary group leader Kurt Hackl and state party manager Matthias Zauner.

Preferential votes in each constituency will again determine the allocation of state parliament seats. Incumbent lawmakers will receive a bonus equivalent to five per cent of the ÖVP votes cast in their constituency. All formal resolutions for the election were approved unanimously.

At the previous state election, on 29 January 2023, the ÖVP fell to a record low of 39.93 per cent. It then reached a working agreement with the FPÖ, which won 24.19 per cent, its best result in the state.

An August poll commissioned by ORF Lower Austria from the Institute for Demoscopy and Data Analysis found the gap between the ÖVP and FPÖ narrowing. It also suggested that the Freedom Party and Social Democrats could win a majority of seats for the first time at the next election.

The SPÖ has already selected State Councillor Sven Hergovich as its lead candidate. He took over as state party leader in 2023 after the party recorded its worst result in Lower Austria, with 20.65 per cent.