Editing Graz (section)

==Politics==
[[File:Gemeindesrat of Graz elections, 1945-2021.png|thumb|400px|Municipal election results since 1945.]]
[[File:Rathaus Graz (18305161105).jpg|thumb|Graz City Hall]]
For much of its post-war history Graz was a stronghold of the [[Social Democratic Party of Austria]] (SPÖ), but since the late 1990s the party has lost most of its support on a local level. It was overtaken by the [[Austrian People's Party]] (ÖVP) in 2003, which remained the largest party in the city council (''Gemeinderat'') until 2021. With the decline of the SPÖ, the [[Communist Party of Austria]] (KPÖ) has become highly popular in Graz, despite its negligible presence on a national level. The party placed third with 20.8% of votes in the 2003 local election, which has been attributed to the popularity of local leader Ernest Kaltenegger. It fell to 11.2% in 2008, and recovered under new leader Elke Kahr, becoming the second most popular party in Graz with 19.9% in 2012 and 20.3% in 2017. The KPÖ's popularity in Graz allowed them to enter the Styrian provincial parliament in the [[2005 Styrian state election|2005 election]], marking their first appearance in an Austrian provincial parliament in 35 years; they have retained their seats in the subsequent 2010, 2015, and 2019 elections.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/europa/oesterreich-wuerschtl-statt-weltrevolution-12892839.html |title=Klutz instead of World Revolution |newspaper=Faz.net |date=19 April 2014 |publisher=[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]] |last1=Löwenstein |first1=Stephan}}</ref> The 2021 municipal election saw a collapse in the ÖVP's popularity, allowing the KPÖ, once again led by [[Elke Kahr]], to become the largest party with 29% of votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Communist Party Just Won the Elections in Austria's Second-Biggest City |url=https://jacobinmag.com/2021/09/communist-party-of-austria-kpo-graz-election-victory-red-fortress |website=Jacobin |access-date=30 September 2021 |date=27 September 2021}}</ref> She was subsequently elected mayor in November, leading a coalition with the Greens and SPÖ.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://steiermark.orf.at/stories/3130354/|title=Livestream: Elke Kahr is Graz mayor|date=17 November 2021|language=de|website=[[ORF (broadcaster)|ORF]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/austrian-city-swears-in-first-ever-communist-mayor/a-59849044|title=Austrian city swears in first-ever communist mayor|date=17 November 2021|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref>

{{main|2021 Graz local election}}

The most recent city council election was held on 26 September 2021, and the results were as follows:

{{election table}}
! colspan=2| Party
! Lead candidate
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
! {{abbr|Coun.|Councillors (in the city government)}}
! +/-
|-
| {{party color cell|Communist Party of Austria}}
| align=left| [[Communist Party of Austria]] (KPÖ)
| align=left| [[Elke Kahr]]
| 34,283
| 28.84
| {{increase}} 8.50
| 15
| {{increase}} 5
| 3
| {{increase}} 1
|-
| {{party color cell|Austrian People's Party (2017)}}
| align=left| [[Austrian People's Party]] (ÖVP)
| align=left| [[Siegfried Nagl]]
| 30,797
| 25.91
| {{decrease}} 11.88
| 13
| {{decrease}} 6
| 2
| {{decrease}} 1
|-
| {{party color cell|The Greens – The Green Alternative}}
| align=left| [[The Greens – The Green Alternative]] (GRÜNE)
| align=left| [[Judith Schwentner]]
| 20,593
| 17.32
| {{increase}} 6.81
| 9
| {{increase}} 4
| 1
| ±0
|-
| {{party color cell|Freedom Party of Austria}}
| align=left| [[Freedom Party of Austria]] (FPÖ)
| align=left| Mario Eustacchio
| 12,612
| 10.61
| {{decrease}} 5.25
| 5
| {{decrease}} 3
| 1
| ±0
|-
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}
| align=left| [[Social Democratic Party of Austria]] (SPÖ)
| align=left| Michael Ehmann
| 11,325
| 9.53
| {{decrease}} 0.52
| 4
| {{decrease}} 1
| 0
| ±0
|-
| {{party color cell|NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum}}
| align=left| [[NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum]] (NEOS)
| align=left| Philipp Pointner
| 6,447
| 5.42
| {{increase}} 1.48
| 2
| {{increase}} 1
| 0
| ±0
|-
| 
| align=left| Others
| align=left| –
| 2,825
| 2.37
| –
| 0
| ±0
| 0
| ±0
|-
! colspan=3| Invalid votes
! 1,807
!
!
!
!
!
!
|-
! colspan=3| Total
! 120,689
! 100.00
!
! 48
! ±0
! 7
! ±0
|-
! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout
! 223,512
! 54.00
! {{decrease}} 3.39
!
!
!
!
|-
| colspan=10| Source: [https://www.wahlergebnis.graz.at/?report=ReportResult;district=Graz%20gesamt;party=%C3%96VP;minMax=Absteigend  Stadt Graz]
|}