Graz Municipal Election: Kahr and the KPÖ Aim for a Second Term

Starting Position: 225,883 Eligible Voters and High Temperatures

An OGM survey commissioned by the Kleine Zeitung sees the ÖVP at around 35 percent and the KPÖ at about 20 percent. According to this data, Kahr goes into the election as the favorite, although the institute estimates the gap to the ÖVP to be narrower than it was weeks ago. The SPÖ remains the third force according to this picture, even though party leader Doris Kampus has made clear: "Wir stehen nicht mehr als Koalitionspartner zur Verfügung, wenn wir nicht wieder einen Stadtratssitz bekommen."

The election is seen as a directional decision about the future of the city. A continuation of Kahr's socially left "caring" politics with pronounced green transformations is opposed by a bourgeois revival that places greater emphasis on economic and innovative development. There are concerns that voter turnout will be depressed by the early national team match against Algeria and the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Spielberg. Added to this is the forecast heat of more than 35 degrees Celsius in the afternoon.

Directional Decision Between "Caring" Politics and Bourgeois Revival

Already in the morning at 7:00 AM, "only" 22 degrees Celsius were measured. In 2021, overall voter turnout was only 54 percent, a figure that is again within the realm of possibility this time. Concerns about turnout have nevertheless not been expressed at the Graz city hall.

The background to the tension is a phenomenon that Neos politician Philipp Pointner described as "Graz ist eine Wundertüte." How painful this insight can become was experienced in 2021 by the then long-time mayor Siegfried Nagl, who was voted out after a mood for change in the city. This time as well, many in the bourgeois camp are counting on a similar surprise.

ÖVP under Hohensinner: From Never to Maybe

Kahr's predecessor Nagl now sees himself in the role of the warner. His successor at the top of the ÖVP, Kurt Hohensinner, meanwhile wants to break a former taboo. From "Niemals mit der KPÖ" it now becomes "Eine Koalition können wir uns durchaus vorstellen" for him. This brings the ÖVP, at least rhetorically, into line with those who want to talk to Kahr about forming a government.

Criticism of Kahr's style comes from the media city itself. The publisher of the Grazer Kleine Zeitung, Hubert Patterer, stuck with the reservation he had already expressed shortly after the 2021 election in the ORF Report: "Sie führt diese Stadt als Sozialarbeiterin. Aber es ist ein sehr erfolgreiches Missverständnis." The criticism leaves Kahr unperturbed.

A City, Many Uncertainties

The fact that the KPÖ's political capital emerged under the radar of the other parties is shown by the balance sheets from five years in office. Unspectacular small-scale work became the support that brought Kahr to the mayor's office in 2021. Now it is about converting this capital into a second term for her, while the ÖVP is counting on a bourgeois headwind.

The SPÖ is also in the running as a possible coalition partner, but clearly ties renewed participation in government to a mandate on the city council. Should the SPÖ miss out on entering the city council, a coalition with the KPÖ is ruled out for Kampus. This significantly narrows the possible constellations after the election.

Graz thus remains what Pointner aptly described: a political surprise box. While voters cast their ballots, the party headquarters in Vienna and Graz are keeping an eye on the projections early in the evening. What is already clear now is that the election will decide, both programmatically and in terms of personnel, the future direction of Austria's second-largest city.