Styria (state)

Styria (die Steiermark in German, Štajerska in Slovenian) is a federal state or Bundesland, located in the south east of Austria. In area, it is the second largest of the nine Austrian states, covering 16.388 km². It borders Slovenia as well as the other Austrian states of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Burgenland, and Carinthia (state). The population (as of 2001) was 1,183,303. The capital city is Graz.

Politics

The state has been a stronghold of the Austrian People's Party(ÖVP) since 1945. The governor (Austrian political term: Landeshauptmann)was usually a member of this party.

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Elections 2005

In the last elections for state parliament the Social Democrats(SPÖ) under their regional chairman Franz Voves won the majority after the ÖVP had damaged its credibility by scandals and the secession of a high party member who run with an own party for 2005 election. In this election, also the Communists of the KPÖ have got many votes after they had gained much popularity for local politics in Graz during the last years. The two right wing populist parties, the FPÖ and the BZÖ both failed to win seats.

Related Topics:
Social Democrats(SPÖ) - Franz Voves - Communists - FPÖ - BZÖ

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