2004 Salzburg state election

7 March 2004

All 36 seats in the Landtag of Salzburg
19 seats needed for a majority
Turnout282,659 (77.3%)
Increase 3.2%
  First party Second party
 
Leader Gabi Burgstaller Wilfried Haslauer Jr.
Party SPÖ ÖVP
Last election 12 seats, 32.3% 15 seats, 38.8%
Seats won 17 14
Seat change Increase 5 Decrease 1
Popular vote 125,382 104,723
Percentage 45.4% 37.9%
Swing Increase 13.1% Decrease 0.8%

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Karl Schnell Cyriak Schwaighofer
Party FPÖ Greens
Last election 7 seats, 19.6% 2 seats, 5.4%
Seats won 3 2
Seat change Decrease 4 Steady 0
Popular vote 24,007 22,080
Percentage 8.7% 8.0%
Swing Decrease 10.9% Increase 2.6%

Governor before election

Franz Schausberger
ÖVP

Elected Governor

Gabi Burgstaller
SPÖ

The 2004 Salzburg state election was held on 7 March 2004 to elect the members of the Landtag of Salzburg.

The result was a historic victory for the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), which became the largest party in the state for the first time in history. The SPÖ achieved a decisive swing of over thirteen percentage points, winning 45.4% of votes cast. The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), which had governed the state uninterrupted since 1945, fell to second place despite only small losses. Incumbent Governor Franz Schausberger did not run for re-election; rather, Wilfried Haslauer Jr. was the ÖVP's top candidate. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) lost over half its vote share and seats to the SPÖ, while The Greens made minor gains.

A coalition between the SPÖ and Greens was mathematically possible, but dismissed by the SPÖ, who had ruled out such an arrangement prior to the election. They subsequently formed a coalition with the ÖVP. Gabi Burgstaller became the first SPÖ governor of Salzburg. She became the second female state governor in Austrian history (after Waltraud Klasnic in 1996), and the first to enter office as the result of an election victory.

Background

In the 1999 election, the ÖVP remained the largest party, though the SPÖ increased their vote share by five points. The FPÖ stayed level on just under 20% of votes, and the Greens narrowly retained their presence in the Landtag. The ÖVP formed a coalition with the SPÖ.

Electoral system

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.[1]

Contesting parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag.

Name Ideology Leader 1999 result
Votes (%) Seats
ÖVP Austrian People's Party
Österreichische Volkspartei
Christian democracy Wilfried Haslauer Jr. 38.8%
15 / 36
SPÖ Social Democratic Party of Austria
Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs
Social democracy Gabi Burgstaller 32.3%
12 / 36
FPÖ Freedom Party of Austria
Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs
Right-wing populism
Euroscepticism
Karl Schnell 19.6%
7 / 36
GRÜNE The Greens – The Green Alternative
Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative
Green politics Cyriak Schwaighofer 5.4%
2 / 36

Results

Party Votes  % +/− Seats +/−
Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) 125,382 45.40 +13.06 17 +5
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) 104,723 37.92 –0.83 14 –1
Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) 24,007 8.69 –10.89 3 –4
The Greens – The Green Alternative (GRÜNE) 22,080 7.99 +2.60 2 ±0
Invalid/blank votes 6,467
Total 282,659 100 36 0
Registered voters/turnout  ? 77.3 +3.2
Source: Salzburg State Government
Popular vote
SPÖ
45.40%
ÖVP
37.92%
FPÖ
8.69%
GRÜNE
7.99%
Landtag seats
SPÖ
47.22%
ÖVP
38.89%
FPÖ
8.33%
GRÜNE
5.56%

References

  1. "Election results". Salzburg State Government.
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