Austrian parties cancel election events due to flooding

By Francois Murphy

VIENNA (Reuters) – Austrian parties have cancelled or postponed their election events planned for Monday due to deadly floods. The conservative chancellor spoke of a “pause” in the election campaign, but experienced observers say there was no such thing.

Heavy and persistent rains have caused the worst flooding in two decades in several Central European countries since Friday. The worst affected region in Austria was the state of Lower Austria, which surrounds Vienna and borders the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Three people have died there so far.

“It's now time for the election campaign break! We must devote all our energy and attention to disaster protection and helping those affected by the storms!”, posted Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Sunday afternoon on the social media platform X.

Less than two weeks before the parliamentary elections on September 29, campaign events of various parties were cancelled and televised election debates were postponed.

However, Nehammer remained in the public eye, visiting Lower Austria and chairing crisis meetings in Vienna to monitor the crisis response. He regularly posted pictures of himself on social media.

“Of course the election campaign continues, only now he is concentrating on this issue and he is trying to use it to his advantage,” said political scientist Thomas Hofer.

Other party leaders were also active on social media. Herbert Kickl of the far-right Freedom Party, which is leading in the polls, posted a video from an empty room in which he thanked the rescue workers.

Andreas Babler of the opposition Social Democrats (SPÖ), who is also mayor of the Lower Austrian town of Traiskirchen, published videos of himself with local emergency services.

Vienna's mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) demonstrated on Monday at a joint press conference with Nehammer that there is no political truce.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the city dug a huge canal along the Danube to prevent flooding, which proved effective. The main cause of this weekend's flooding was the otherwise small Vienna River.

Without mentioning Nehammer's People's Party by name, Ludwig reminded voters that it had offered “fierce political resistance” to the Danube flood protection measures at the time.

“We got through the situation well because we massively expanded flood protection very early on, many years ago,” said Ludwig, with Nehammer next to him.

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Christina Fincher)