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SP� Upper Austria boss Haider to step down after election flop

By Thomas Hochwarter

Upper Austrian SP� boss Erich Haider is to offer his resignation next week, it emerged today (Weds).

Haider said he will offer to step down as head of the Social Democrats in the province and a member of the provincial government at a meeting to take place on Monday.

This announcement comes after the SP֒s debacle at last Sunday�s provincial elections where the party suffered losses of 13.4 per cent, receiving just 24.94 per cent of the vote.

The Social Democrats had not seen a sharper fall in votes in a provincial election since World War Two.

Haider explained: "I made up my mind. I think this is the best solution. It is time for the SP� in Upper Austria to make a brand new start. This is why I will offer to step down."

Haider revealed he planned to return to the board of energy provider Linz AG where he had worked before going into politics.

SP� Chancellor Werner Faymann had said yesterday Haider should not be made a scapegoat for the party�s result in the provincial election in which the People�s Party (�VP) garnered 46.8 per cent of the vote, 3.4 percentage points from six years ago.

Upper Austrian Social Affairs Councillor Josef Ackerl is set to succeed Haider.

The right-wing Freedom Party (FP�) came close to doubling its vote by receiving 15.3 per cent of the vote, up 6.9 per cent. The Greens received 9.2 per cent, up 0.1 per cent, while the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZ�) � who campaigned with J�rg Haider�s sister Ursula Haubner as their front runner � failed to enter the provincial parliament. The party, which was only founded in 2005, received just 2.83 per cent.

Austrian Times

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