2009 Salzburg state election

The 2009 Salzburg state election was held on 1 March 2009 to elect the members of the Landtag of Salzburg.

2009 Salzburg state election

← 20041 March 20092013 →

All 36 seats in the Landtag of Salzburg
19 seats needed for a majority
Turnout287,065 (74.4%)
Decrease 2.9%
 First partySecond party
 
LeaderGabi BurgstallerWilfried Haslauer Jr.
PartySPÖÖVP
Last election17 seats, 45.4%14 seats, 37.9%
Seats won1514
Seat changeDecrease 2Steady 0
Popular vote111,485103,385
Percentage39.4%36.5%
SwingDecrease 6.0%Decrease 1.4%

 Third partyFourth party
 
LeaderKarl SchnellCyriak Schwaighofer
PartyFPÖGreens
Last election3 seats, 8.7%2 seats, 8.0%
Seats won52
Seat changeIncrease 2Steady 0
Popular vote36,84520,843
Percentage13.0%7.4%
SwingIncrease 4.3%Decrease 0.6%

Governor before election

Gabi Burgstaller
SPÖ

Elected Governor

Wilfried Haslauer Jr.
ÖVP

The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) remained the largest party but took moderate losses. Its coalition partner the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) also suffered a small swing against it. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) recovered somewhat from its 2004 defeat, winning five seats. The Greens remained stable. The SPÖ renewed its coalition with the ÖVP, and Governor Gabi Burgstaller was re-elected for a second term.[1]

Background

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In the 2004 election, the SPÖ became the largest party in the Landtag for the first time in post-war history. While the ÖVP suffered only a slight decline, they fell to second place in the face of a major swing to the SPÖ, who captured voters from the FPÖ and Liberal Forum. The FPÖ fell from 20% to under 9%, while the Greens made gains. Gabi Burgstaller subsequently became the first SPÖ governor of Salzburg, in a coalition with the ÖVP.

Electoral system

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The 36 seats of the Landtag of Salzburg are elected via open list proportional representation in a two-step process. The seats are distributed between six multi-member constituencies. For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must either win at least one seat in a constituency directly, or clear a 5 percent state-wide electoral threshold. Seats are distributed in constituencies according to the Hare quota, with any remaining seats allocated using the D'Hondt method at the state level, to ensure overall proportionality between a party's vote share and its share of seats.[2]

Contesting parties

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The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag.

NameIdeologyLeader2004 result
Votes (%)Seats
SPÖSocial Democratic Party of Austria
Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs
Social democracyGabi Burgstaller45.4%
17 / 36
ÖVPAustrian People's Party
Österreichische Volkspartei
Christian democracyWilfried Haslauer Jr.37.9%
14 / 36
FPÖFreedom Party of Austria
Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs
Right-wing populism
Euroscepticism
Karl Schnell8.7%
3 / 36
GRÜNEThe Greens – The Green Alternative
Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative
Green politicsCyriak Schwaighofer8.0%
2 / 36

In addition to the parties already represented in the Landtag, one party collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot:

Results

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PartyVotes%+/−Seats+/−
Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ)111,48539.37–6.0315–2
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP)103,38536.55–1.3714±0
Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ)36,84513.02+4.335+2
The Greens – The Green Alternative (GRÜNE)20,8437.35–0.632±0
Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ)10,4773.70New0New
Invalid/blank votes4,030
Total287,065100360
Registered voters/turnout386,06874.36–2.94
Source: Salzburg State Government
Popular vote
SPÖ
39.37%
ÖVP
36.55%
FPÖ
13.02%
GRÜNE
7.36%
BZÖ
3.70%
Landtag seats
SPÖ
41.67%
ÖVP
38.89%
FPÖ
13.89%
GRÜNE
5.56%

Results by constituency

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ConstituencySPÖÖVPFPÖGrüneBZÖTotal
seats
Turnout
%S%S%S%S%S
Salzburg City38.9330.2213.2113.314.4760.1
Hallein41.2137.0111.46.73.7278.8
Salzburg Surrounds34.8340.1413.017.94.3877.4
St. Johann im Pongau42.0237.6113.34.13.0380.5
Tamsweg38.839.914.23.33.7084.2
Zell am See44.0236.1213.34.02.5481.0
Remaining seats443112
Total39.41536.51413.057.423.73674.4
Source: Salzburg State Government

References

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  1. ^ "New old state government sworn in". Der Standard. 22 April 2009.
  2. ^ "Election results". Salzburg State Government.