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The conservative ÖVP party of Sebastian Kurz is leading the polls for the parliamentary elections taking place following the scandal Ibizagate. AFP Photos / Joe Klamar

The Austrians are voting this Sunday, September 29th. The parliamentary elections were made necessary by the Ibizagate, a corruption scandal that affected the far-right party FPÖ in May 2019. This scandal was right in the government coalition between the right and the far right.

With our correspondent in Vienna, Isaure Hiace

Former Conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is the favorite of the Austrian elections. He is 10 points ahead of the polls on the Social Democrats, currently in second place, just ahead of the extreme right party FPÖ . But its situation seems less simple than it was in 2017, because the choice of its coalition partner is less obvious. And a question arises for him: can he once again ally himself with the FPÖ after the Ibizagate?

During the campaign, Sebastian Kurz regularly praised the record of the coalition between conservatives and far right, which he led for 18 months. As here during a televised debate: " Thanks to our policy, he said, unemployment has been reduced, wages have increased, pensions too, and with the reform of the guaranteed minimum income, we have given more to those who needed it and less to immigrants who could work. "

The Freedom Party of Austria never mentioned

But since Ibizagate, the conservative candidate carefully avoids saying that he could again govern with the FPÖ after the elections. Moreover, for some activists like Kurt Kalt, such an alliance is no longer desirable: " With them, there are always extremist statements or scandals like that of Ibiza, where we wanted to sell the Republic. It just can not work. "

►Also listen: The Ibizagate continues to shake Austria

But the other possibilities of alliance for the conservative party are uncertain, estimates the political scientist Laurenz Ennser. For him, the Conservatives have two options: " They could ally themselves with the Social Democrats, but I think there is too much of a liability between the two parties. In the Conservative Party, many would surely prefer to govern with the Greens and the Neos Liberal Party, but there are fundamental political differences between these parties, which should make major concessions. "

This is why the Social Democrats say that the alliance between conservatives and extreme right, two parties ideologically close, will be renewed. The FPÖ is even openly campaigning for.

The climate emergency at the heart of elections

Like many parliaments and cities around the world, Austrian MEPs adopted a motion declaring a climate emergency on Thursday, September 26, 2019. A symbolic vote, but not only, according to Social Democrat MP Muna Duzdar: " This motion is not binding, but it makes it clear that the climate should be a priority. That is why we voted on it : I am sure that in the future it will allow ministers or politicians to be held accountable for making bad climate laws. There will be much more public protest. "

MPs from all sides voted for this text, while Austria is in the middle of the electoral campaign and the topic of the environment is top of the minds of voters, according to several polls.

►To listen also: Reportage International - The Greens back in Austria

That did not escape Leonore Gewessler, number two on the ecologist list for the legislative elections: " During the campaign, all the parties put forward climate protection on their posters, and they voted the climate emergency. But all this is symbolic. Political action is needed to bring about change in areas that urgently need it, such as transportation. There has not been one in the last 30 years. "

Only the far right did not vote this motion, saying it created a " climate hysteria ".