View source for 2008 Lower Austrian state election

{{Infobox election
| election_name      = 2008 Lower Austrian state election
| country            = Lower Austria
| flag_year          = state
| type               = parliamentary
| ongoing            = no
| previous_election  = 2003 Lower Austrian state election
| previous_year      = 2003
| next_election      = 2013 Lower Austrian state election
| next_year          = 2013
| seats_for_election = All 56 seats in the [[Landtag of Lower Austria]]<br>{{small|29 seats needed for a majority}}<br>All 9 seats in the state government
| election_date      = 9 March 2008
| turnout            = 1,033,695 (74.5%)<br>{{increase}} 2.7%

<!-- ÖVP -->
| image1             = [[File:Erwin Pröll in Loosdorf.jpg|150x150px]]
| leader1            = [[Erwin Pröll]]
| party1             = Austrian People's Party
| last_election1     = 31 seats, 53.3%
| seats1             = 31
| seat_change1       = {{steady}} 0
| popular_vote1      = 549,510
| percentage1        = 54.4%
| swing1             = {{increase}} 1.1%

<!-- SPÖ -->
| image2             = [[File:Heidemaria Onodi 3.JPG|150x150px]]
| leader2            = Heidemaria Onodi
| party2             = Social Democratic Party of Austria
| last_election2     = 19 seats, 33.6%
| seats2             = 15
| seat_change2       = {{decrease}} 4
| popular_vote2      = 257,770
| percentage2        = 25.5%
| swing2             = {{decrease}} 8.0%

<!-- FPÖ -->
| image4             = [[File:Barbara Rosenkranz Sankt Poelten 20080918 cropped.jpg|150x150px]]
| leader4            = [[Barbara Rosenkranz]]
| party4             = Freedom Party of Austria
| last_election4     = 2 seats, 4.5%
| seats4             = 6
| seat_change4       = {{increase}} 4
| popular_vote4      = 105,748
| percentage4        = 10.5%
| swing4             = {{increase}} 6.0%

<!-- Grüne -->
| image5             = [[File:Madeleine_Petrovic_Sankt_Poelten_20080911.jpg|150x150px]]
| leader5            = [[Madeleine Petrovic]]
| party5             = The Greens – The Green Alternative
| last_election5     = 4 seats, 7.2%
| seats5             = 4
| seat_change5       = {{steady}} 0
| popular_vote5      = 69,852
| percentage5        = 6.9%
| swing5             = {{decrease}} 0.3%

<!-- Map -->
| map_image = 
| map_size = 
| map_caption =

<!-- Result -->
| title           = [[List of governors of Lower Austria|Governor]]
| before_election = [[Erwin Pröll]]
| before_party    = Austrian People's Party
| after_election  = [[Erwin Pröll]]
| after_party     = Austrian People's Party
}}
The '''2008 Lower Austrian state election''' was held on 9 March 2008 to elect the members of the [[Landtag of Lower Austria]].

The [[Austrian People's Party]] (ÖVP) retained its majority. The major opposition party, the [[Social Democratic Party of Austria]] (SPÖ), suffered substantial losses. The [[Freedom Party of Austria]] (FPÖ) partially recovered from its 2003 losses, more than doubling its voteshare and tripling its number of seats.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.noe.gv.at/wahlen/L20081/Index.html|title=State of Lower Austria – Landtag election 2008|publisher=Lower Austrian Government}}</ref>

==Background==
The Lower Austrian constitution mandates that cabinet positions in the state government (state councillors, {{langx|de|Landesräten}}) be allocated between parties proportionally in accordance with the share of votes won by each; this is known as [[Proporz]]. As such, the government is a perpetual coalition of all parties that qualify for at least one state councillor. After the 2003 election, the ÖVP had six councillors and the SPÖ three.

==Electoral system==
The 56 seats of the Landtag of Lower Austria are elected via [[open list]] [[proportional representation]] in a two-step process. The seats are distributed between twenty-one multi-member constituencies. For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must either win at least one seat in a constituency directly, or clear a 4 percent state-wide electoral threshold. Seats are distributed in constituencies according to the [[Hare quota]], with any remaining seats allocated using the [[D'Hondt method]] at the state level, to ensure overall proportionality between a party's vote share and its share of seats.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=LrNO&Gesetzesnummer=20000067|title=ROS - NÖ Landtag electoral law 1992 - State law for Lower Austria, version of 04.08.2020|publisher=Lower Austrian Government}}</ref>

==Contesting parties==
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag.
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" colspan="3"| Name
! rowspan="2"| Ideology
! rowspan="2"| Leader
! colspan="3"| 2003 result
|-
! Votes (%)
! Seats
! Councillors
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party}};"|
| style="text-align:center;"| '''ÖVP'''
| [[Austrian People's Party]]<br />{{small|''Österreichische Volkspartei''}}
| [[Christian democracy]]
| [[Erwin Pröll]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 53.3%
| {{Composition bar|31|56|{{party color|Austrian People's Party}}}}
| {{Composition bar|6|9|{{party color|Austrian People's Party}}}}
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}};"|
| style="text-align:center;"| '''SPÖ'''
| [[Social Democratic Party of Austria]]<br />{{small|''Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs''}}
| [[Social democracy]]
| Heidemaria Onodi
| style="text-align:center;"| 33.6%
| {{Composition bar|19|56|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}}}
| {{Composition bar|3|9|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}}}
|-
| style="background:{{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}};"|
| style="text-align:center;"| '''GRÜNE'''
| [[The Greens – The Green Alternative]]<br />{{small|''Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative''}}
| [[Green politics]]
| [[Madeleine Petrovic]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 7.2%
| {{Composition bar|4|56|{{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}}}}
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}};"|
| style="text-align:center;"| '''FPÖ'''
| [[Freedom Party of Austria]]<br />{{small|''Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs''}}
| [[Right-wing populism]]<br />[[Euroscepticism]]
| [[Barbara Rosenkranz]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 4.5%
| {{Composition bar|2|56|{{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}}}}
|}

In addition to the parties already represented in the Landtag, five parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.noe.gv.at/wahlen/L20081/Parteien.html|title=Parties|publisher=Lower Austrian Government}}</ref>

* [[Communist Party of Austria]] (''KPÖ'')
* [[Christian Party of Austria|The Christians]] (''DCP'') – on the ballot only in 20 constituencies
* [[Alliance for the Future of Austria]] (BZÖ) – on the ballot only in 17 constituencies
* List for our Lower Austria (''LNÖ'') – on the ballot only in 6 constituencies
* Animal Rights Party (''TRP'') – on the ballot only in [[Mödling District|Mödling]]

==Results==
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:right
! colspan="9" |[[File:2008 Lower Austrian Landtag.svg|center]]
|-
! colspan=2|Party
! Votes
! %
! +/−
! Seats
! +/−
! {{abbr|Coun.|State councillors}}
! +/−
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Austrian People's Party}}|
| align=left| [[Austrian People's Party]] (ÖVP)
| 549,510
| 54.39
| +1.10
| 31
| ±0
| 6
| ±0
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}|
| align=left| [[Social Democratic Party of Austria]] (SPÖ)
| 257,770
| 25.51
| –8.04
| 15
| –4
| 2
| –1
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}}|
| align=left| [[Freedom Party of Austria]] (FPÖ)
| 105,748
| 10.47
| +5.98
| 6
| +4
| 1
| +1
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}}|
| align=left| [[The Greens – The Green Alternative]] (GRÜNE)
| 69,852
| 6.91
| –0.31
| 4
| ±0
| 0
| ±0
|-
| colspan=9 bgcolor=lightgrey|
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Communist Party of Austria}}|
| align=left| [[Communist Party of Austria]] (KPÖ)
| 8,661
| 0.86
| +0.09
| 0
| ±0
| 0
| ±0
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Christian Party of Austria}}|
| align=left| [[Christian Party of Austria|The Christians]] (DCP)
| 8,537
| 0.84
| New
| 0
| New
| 0
| New
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Alliance for the Future of Austria}}|
| align=left| [[Alliance for the Future of Austria]] (BZÖ)
| 7,250
| 0.72
| New
| 0
| New
| 0
| New
|-
| 
| align=left| List for our Lower Austria (LNÖ)
| 2,174
| 0.22
| New
| 0
| New
| 0
| New
|-
| 
| align=left| Animal Rights Party (TRP)
| 854
| 0.08
| New
| 0
| New
| 0
| New
|-
| colspan=2 align=left| Invalid/blank votes
| 23,339
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
|-
| colspan=2 align=left| '''Total'''
| '''1,033,695'''
| '''100'''
| '''–'''
| '''56'''
| '''0'''
| '''9'''
| '''0'''
|-
| align=left colspan=2| Registered voters/turnout
| 1,387,368
| 74.51
| +2.72
| –
| –
| –
| –
|-
| align=left colspan=9 |Source: [http://www.noe.gv.at/wahlen/L20081/Index.html Lower Austrian Government]
|}
{{bar box
| title = Popular vote
| float = 
| titlebar = #ddd
| width = 500px
| barwidth = 400px
| bars =
{{bar percent|ÖVP|{{party color|Austrian People's Party}}|54.39}}
{{bar percent|SPÖ|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}|25.51}}
{{bar percent|FPÖ|{{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}}|10.47}}
{{bar percent|GRÜNE|{{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}}|6.91}}
{{bar percent|Other|#777777|2.72}}}}
{{bar box
| title = Landtag seats
| float = 
| titlebar = #ddd
| width = 500px
| barwidth = 400px
| bars =
{{bar percent|ÖVP|{{party color|Austrian People's Party}}|55.36}}
{{bar percent|SPÖ|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}|25.00}}
{{bar percent|FPÖ|{{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}}|10.71}}
{{bar percent|GRÜNE|{{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}}|7.14}}}}

===Results by constituency===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;line-height:16px"
|- style="height:40px;"
! style="width:140px;" rowspan="3"| Constituency
! style="width:60px;" colspan="2"| [[Austrian People's Party|ÖVP]]
! style="width:60px;" colspan="2"| [[Social Democratic Party of Austria|SPÖ]]
! style="width:60px;" colspan="2"| [[Freedom Party of Austria|FPÖ]]
! style="width:60px;" colspan="2"| [[The Greens – The Green Alternative|Grüne]]
! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;" rowspan="2"| Others
! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;" rowspan="3"| Total<br>seats
! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;" rowspan="3"| Turnout
|-
! colspan="2" style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party}};"|
! colspan="2" style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}};"|
! colspan="2" style="background:{{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}};"|
! colspan="2" style="background:{{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}};"|
|-
! class=unsortable| % || class=unsortable| {{abbr|S|Seats}}
! class=unsortable| % || class=unsortable| {{abbr|S|Seats}}
! class=unsortable| % || class=unsortable| {{abbr|S|Seats}}
! class=unsortable| % || class=unsortable| {{abbr|S|Seats}}
! class=unsortable| %
|-
| align=left| [[Amstetten District|Amstetten]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''58.6''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''3''' || 22.7 || 1 || 10.1 || || 6.0 || || 2.6 || 4 || 79.1
|-
| align=left| [[Baden District, Austria|Baden]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''47.2''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''2''' || 29.1 || 1 || 12.8 || || 7.9 || || 3.0 || 3 || 70.2
|-
| align=left| [[Bruck an der Leitha District|Bruck an der Leitha]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''51.2''' || || 30.7 || || 10.7 || || 5.7 || || 1.7 || 0 || 72.6
|-
| align=left| [[Gänserndorf District|Gänserndorf]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''47.9''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''1''' || 30.9 || bgcolor=#F4C6C9| '''1''' || 12.1 || || 5.9 || || 3.2 || 2 || 71.3
|-
| align=left| [[Gmünd District|Gmünd]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''54.1''' || || 31.1 || || 8.1 || || 4.3 || || 2.4 || 0 || 77.9
|-
| align=left| [[Hollabrunn District|Hollabrunn]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''60.7''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''1''' || 23.5 || || 8.5 || || 5.3 || || 2.1 || 1 || 77.8
|-
| align=left| [[Horn District|Horn]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''68.6''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''1''' || 18.1 || || 6.4 || || 4.8 || || 2.0 || 1 || 79.2
|-
| align=left| [[Korneuburg District|Korneuburg]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''56.0''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''1''' || 22.0 || || 10.8 || || 8.7 || || 2.5 || 1 || 73.0
|-
| align=left| [[Krems an der Donau]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''60.5''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''2''' || 21.2 || || 8.9 || || 6.2 || || 3.2 || 2 || 76.9
|-
| align=left| [[Lilienfeld District|Lilienfeld]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''51.2''' || || 32.2 || || 9.6 || || 4.7 || || 2.3 || 0 || 79.5
|-
| align=left| [[Melk District|Melk]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''55.1''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''1''' || 26.0 || || 11.0 || || 5.3 || || 2.7 || 1 || 80.2
|-
| align=left| [[Mistelbach District|Mistelbach]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''60.5''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''2''' || 22.4 || || 9.5 || || 5.5 || || 2.2 || 2 || 78.0
|-
| align=left| [[Mödling District|Mödling]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''52.0''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''2''' || 21.5 || || 9.4 || || 12.9 || || 4.3 || 2 || 68.3
|-
| align=left| [[Neunkirchen District, Austria|Neunkirchen]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''49.4''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''1''' || 30.8 || bgcolor=#F4C6C9| '''1''' || 11.7 || || 5.7 || || 2.4 || 2 || 75.2
|-
| align=left| [[Sankt Pölten]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''49.4''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''2''' || 28.4 || 1 || 11.6 || || 7.4 || || 3.2 || 3 || 75.6
|-
| align=left| [[Scheibbs District|Scheibbs]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''60.9''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''1''' || 21.9 || || 8.9 || || 5.9 || || 2.4 || 1 || 80.5
|-
| align=left| [[Tulln District|Tulln]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''58.4''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''1''' || 22.4 || || 9.7 || || 7.1 || || 2.3 || 1 || 75.7
|-
| align=left| [[Waidhofen an der Thaya District|Waidhofen an der Thaya]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''63.1''' || || 20.7 || || 10.2 || || 4.6 || || 1.4 || 0 || 78.0
|-
| align=left| [[Wiener Neustadt]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''50.5''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''2''' || 29.0 || 1 || 12.0 || || 5.7 || || 2.7 || 3 || 71.9
|-
| align=left| Vienna Surrounds || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''46.9''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''2''' || 27.5 || 1 || 11.4 || || 11.6 || || 2.7 || 3 || 65.3
|-
| align=left| [[Zwettl District|Zwettl]] || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''70.0''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''1''' || 15.6 || || 7.8 || || 4.5 || || 2.2 || 1 || 81.9
|-
| colspan=14 bgcolor=lightgrey|
|-
| align=left| ''Remaining seats'' || || 5 || || 8 || || 6 || || 4 || || 23 ||
|-
| colspan=14 bgcolor=lightgrey|
|-
| align=left| '''Total''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''54.4''' || bgcolor=#D9D9D9| '''31''' || 25.5 || 15 || 10.5 || 6 || 6.9 || 4 || 2.7 || 56 || 74.5
|- class=sortbottom
| colspan=14 align=left| Source: [http://www.noe.gv.at/wahlen/L20081/Index.html?area=w Lower Austrian Government]
|}

===Preference votes===
Alongside votes for a party, voters were able to cast a preferential votes for a candidate on the party list. The ten candidates with the most preferential votes were as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.noe.gv.at/wahlen/L20081/Kandidaten.html|title=Candidates|publisher=Lower Austrian Government}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center"
! colspan=2| Party
! {{abbr|Pos.|Position on party list}}
! Candidate
! Votes
! {{abbr|%|Candidate's votes as a percentage of all preferential votes cast for their party's list}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Austrian People's Party}}|
| [[Austrian People's Party|ÖVP]]
| 1
| align=left| [[Erwin Pröll]]
| 303,022
| 91.2
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}|
| [[Social Democratic Party of Austria|SPÖ]]
| 1
| align=left| Heidemaria Onodi
| 45,445
| 58.5
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}}|
| [[Freedom Party of Austria|FPÖ]]
| 1
| align=left| [[Barbara Rosenkranz]]
| 45,371
| 86.8
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}}|
| [[The Greens – The Green Alternative|GRÜNE]]
| 1
| align=left| [[Madeleine Petrovic]]
| 18,973
| 66.5
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}|
| [[Social Democratic Party of Austria|SPÖ]]
| 2
| align=left| Emil Schabl
| 4,131
| 5.3
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Austrian People's Party}}|
| [[Austrian People's Party|ÖVP]]
| 3
| align=left| [[Wolfgang Sobotka]]
| 3,961
| 1.2
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Austrian People's Party}}|
| [[Austrian People's Party|ÖVP]]
| 4
| align=left| Josef Plank
| 3,748
| 1.1
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Austrian People's Party}}|
| [[Austrian People's Party|ÖVP]]
| 2
| align=left| Ernest Gabmann
| 2,695
| 0.8
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Austrian People's Party}}|
| [[Austrian People's Party|ÖVP]]
| 30
| align=left| [[Bettina Rausch]]
| 2,441
| 0.7
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}|
| [[Social Democratic Party of Austria|SPÖ]]
| 13
| align=left| Josef Jahrmann
| 2,211
| 2.8
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Austrian local elections}}

[[Category:2008 elections in Austria]]
[[Category:State elections in Austria]]
[[Category:March 2008 events in Europe]]