Ludwig holds the title of "Preferred Vote Emperor"; Nepp is in the runner-up position.
In the 2021 Vienna state election, Mayor Michael Ludwig secured a resounding victory for the SPÖ with a staggering amount of preference votes, leaving other candidates far behind. A whopping 10,326 SPÖ voters endorsed the city chief personally, much to the dismay of competitors like Dominik Nepp from FPÖ (8,171) and Judith Pühringer of the Green Party (4,394).
However, even the charismatic Karl Mahrer from the ÖVP failed to impress, managing just 1,744 personal endorsements. His poor performance meant he fell behind Vice Mayor Bettina Emmerling, who received 1,437 preference votes as the best NEOS candidate, despite being one of the six SPÖ candidates with the most votes. Only 679 people cast their votes for Heinz-Christian Strache, fewer than any other top candidate. Incidentally, LINKS politician Angelika Adensamer topped the KPÖ-LINKS list with an impressive 961 votes.
Turkish community bridge figure Asliha Bozatemur garnered the most support among lower-listed candidates, gathering 1,527 preference votes alongside Transport Minister Peter Hanke. Long-time city councilor Omar Al-Rawi also performed exceptionally well, gaining 1,185 endorsements.
The preference vote results saw a significant dip compared to five years ago. At that time, Ludwig's personal endorsements exceeded 15,000. The ÖVP's Gernot Blümel also had a higher value with 11,336 votes. Birgit Hebein, the Green Party's frontwoman, and Christoph Wiederkehr, NEOS top candidate, received 7,076 and 3,110 endorsements, respectively—numbers significantly higher than their respective list leaders this time around. However, FPÖ leader Dominik Nepp managed to more than double his 2016 personal endorsement of 3,790.
It's worth noting that recent elections have shown decreased support for traditional parties like the ÖVP, with voters increasingly turning to smaller parties like NEOS, the Greens, and FPÖ. This fragmentation likely contributed to the lower preference vote allocations in 2021. Additionally, the ÖVP faced a series of resignations and internal restructuring following their less-than-stellar performance.
It appears that in this election, Austrians were less inclined to show personal endorsement of candidates, possibly due to voter dissatisfaction with governing parties, the rise of protest voting, leadership turmoil, or a shift in issue priorities.
- In the 2021 Vienna state election, despite a resounding victory for the SPÖ, Mayoral candidate Michael Ludwig secured only 10,326 personal endorsements, incidentally fewer than his personal endorsements five years ago.
- Among lower-listed candidates, Asliha Bozatemur from the KPÖ-LINKS gained 1,527 preference votes, more than the general-news figure Heinz-Christian Strache (679) or any other top candidate.
- Political events like war-and-conflicts, crime-and-justice, or politics in general might have influenced the decrease in personal endorsement shown by Austrian voters, as the preference vote results saw a significant dip compared to five years ago.
- The poor performance of leading ÖVP candidate Karl Mahrer (1,744 endorsements) fell behind Vice Mayor Bettina Emmerling (1,437 endorsements), who was the best NEOS candidate and one of the six SPÖ candidates with the most votes.
- Incidentally, the dip in personal endorsements was noticeable for various candidates, including the ÖVP's Gernot Blümel (11,336 votes in 2016 compared to 1,744 in 2021), Birgit Hebein from the Green Party (7,076 endorsements in 2016 compared to 679 in 2021), and Christoph Wiederkehr from NEOS (3,110 endorsements in 2016 compared to 1,437 in 2021).
