In Brief

Austrian Election 2006

The federal election to the Austrian National Council (“Nationalrat”) of October 1, 2006, yielded the following results:

SPÖ (Social Democrats): 35.34%
ÖVP (People’s Party): 34.33%
Grüne (Greens): 11.05%
FPÖ (Freedom Party): 11.04 %
BZÖ (Alliance for the Future of Austria): 4.11%
Matin (Liste Dr. Hans Peter Martin): 2.80%
KPÖ (Communist Party): 1.01%

Some 400,000 absentee ballots were counted in the aftermath of the election; the result became official with the meeting of the Austrian Federal Election Commission on October 20th, 2006. Participation was at 78.48%, a six percent decline since the previous elections in 2004.

Based on these results, the distribution of mandates will be as follows (with a four percent threshold in place to enter the National Council):

SPÖ: 68
ÖVP: 66
Grüne: 21
FPÖ: 21
BZÖ: 7
Matin: -
KPÖ: -

At the time Austrian Information was submitted for printing, talks about the formation of a new coalition government were ongoing.



Austrian-American Council Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The Austrian-American Council (AAC), composed of Americans of Austrian descent, celebrates twenty-five years of dedication to goodwill, transatlantic relations and fostering Austrian culture in the U.S.

AAC’s involvement is diverse: Scholarships are offered, forums are provided for artists and special humanitarian causes are supported with generous donations. During national emergencies, such as the Katrina disaster, Austrian-Americans organized to help provide relief.

(left) Jukiana Belcsak, AAC National Chairman; Norman Simmons; Dr. Brigitte Blaha, Austrian Consul General in New York. Juliane Belcsak

 

By holding informative international roundtable conferences, the various Austrian-American councils  keep abreast of issues concerning both countries. Moreover, bonds of friendship are strongly reinforced through regular exchanges between people and through Sister Cities. Montclaire, New Jersey and Graz in Austria have just celebrated their 56th year anniversary.