Austria's SPO-led coalition set to win parliamentary polls

The ruling Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPO), led by Chancellor Werner Faymann, has won 27.1 percent of the votes in the just-ended parliamentary polls, preliminary results showed Sunday evening. The win, though 2.9 percent less than the percentage in the polls of 2008, entitles the Social Democrats to another five-year term and maintain their lead in the grand coalition, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The conservative People's Party (OVP), a coalition partner led by Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Spindelegger, came second with 23.8 percent of votes, less by 2.2 percent than the previous elections. Heinz-Christian Strache's right-wing Freedom Party (FPO) which won 21.5 percent of votes will celebrate a 4.8 percent rise from its results in the previous elections. The projections give the three-party coalition an absolute majority of 50.2 percent which is down from the 55.3 percent of 2008. The Greens, an opposition party, won 11.2 percent while the newly-founded Team Stronach of the Eurosceptic auto parts tycoon Frank Stronach astonishingly secured a foothold in parliament with six percent of votes. The New Austria party will also debut in the parliament after passing the four-percent hurdle with 4.7 percent of votes. Meanwhile, the Alliance for the Future (BZO) suffered a humiliating defeat with its performance declining from 10 percent in 2008 to just 3.6 percent. The BZO will, therefore, disqualify from representation at the parliament for missing the quorum. The Ministry of Interior is expected to announce the final results of the polls later tonight