The 2017 parliamentary election in Austria produced a remarkable result. The new chancellor would be Sebastian Kurz, who would become a world leader at the age of 31. His conservative party, Osterreichische Volkspartei (Austrian People's Party), was the senior partner in a coalition. The other half of the coalition with the far-right Freiheitliche Partei Osterreichs (Freedom Party of Austria).

While Kurz would remain fairly popular, the FPO became the subject of several scandals. Things came to a head earlier this year. A video was released of the FPO leader, who was also the vice-chancellor.

He appeared to be trying to engage in corrupt acts with a Russian national. As a result, Kurz dissolved the coalition. But without a coalition partner, Kurz no longer controlled the majority of the parliament. Kurz has remained chancellor in a caretaker role. But a new election was needed. The results seem to show a clear winner.

OVP dominates, FPO plummets

The OVP under Kurz has won almost 40 percent of the popular vote, according to Euronews. Kurz's party has secured an advantage of more than 30 seats over its closest rival. Support for the FPO took a steep dive. The party finished in a distant fourth place.

The Sozialdemokratische Partei Osterreichs (Social Democratic Party of Austria) finished in second place.

But the party also saw a big drop in support. A historically low percentage in the popular vote has resulted in a major loss of seats.

Aside from the OVP, the biggest success story might be the environmentally-minded Die Grunen - Die Grune Alternative. The name translates to 'The Greens - The Green Alternative'. In 2017, the Greens had a disastrous election, losing every seat they held in parliament.

This time, they scored more than 20 seats, finishing in third place. The center-left party NEOS also saw an increase of seats.

Speculation has begun on a new coalition

Despite the OVP's dominant performance, the party didn't win quite enough seats to hold a majority. The Guardian reports that many thought the OVP and the FPO, now under new leadership, would align again.

But the FPO's lackluster results may have dashed this. One FPO official acknowledged that there was no mandate for the party to be in a coalition.

'Grand coalitions' have been common in Austria. In other words, the two main opposing parties form a coalition together. But they have gotten the reputation of being stagnant and producing few results.

This could mean a coalition with either the Greens or the NEOS is forthcoming. A partnership with either one would be enough to put Kurz and the OVP over the top. Kurz has promised to speak with all parties.
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