AUSTRIA: Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel's six years in power ended last night after a surprise general election result left his conservative People's Party (ÖVP) trailing the Social Democrats (SPÖ).
Alfred Gusenbauer, leader of the SPÖ, claimed the chancellorship shortly after polls closed, and is likely to head a grand coalition with the ÖVP, though without Mr Schüssel.
"I always believed in a surprise and said to wait until Sunday. The way it's looking, the strongest party has the right to appoint the chancellor," said Mr Gusenbauer (46), as he arrived at the SPÖ election party yesterday to roars of approval.
Final exit polls gave his party 35.7 per cent, little more than a percentage point and three parliamentary seats ahead of the ÖVP, which lost almost eight points to finish at 34.3 per cent.
Analysts said the party was deserted by voters angry with tax and welfare policies seen as favouring the well-off at the expense of low earners.
"I think people in Austria want a change, that they have the impression that things aren't very fair here . . . and they seem to be convinced that we have the answers," said Mr Gusenbauer. Two hours after polls closed, Mr Schüssel made a brief appearance at the funereal ÖVP election party.
"The voters are always right and we will accept this result. We are handing over Austria in a better condition than at any time in its history," he said before being whisked off by bodyguards, ignoring journalists' questions.
Opinion polls had predicted a Schüssel victory as the SPÖ trailed in the polls for months, hobbled by a scandal involving a bank linked to the party.
Austria's extremists were rewarded with a larger number of votes than the last election after running openly xenophobic election campaigns. But they appeared headed for the opposition benches after party leaders ruled out merging to support the ÖVP in a new government.
The extreme right Freedom Party finished a comfortable third with 11 per cent despite the departure of founder Jörg Haider to a new party - the Alliance for the Future of Austria, the outgoing junior coalition partner.
Exit polls suggested the Alliance just scraped into the new parliament because of a large number of direct votes in Mr Haider's home province of Carinthia.
The Green Party finished in fourth place with too few seats to be useful to Mr Gusenbauer as a junior coalition partner.