The government subsequently lost a motion of no confidence in parliament, before ÖVP Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was replaced by non-partisan Brigitte Bierlein on an interim basis.

[2] Following the election, President Alexander Van der Bellen asked Kurz to form the next government, and the ÖVP initiated exploratory talks with the other parties represented in the National Council.

His return was made possible by the resignation of another member of the National Council, Peter Kolba, who stepped down after significant disputes within the List Pilz.

[15] On 17 May 2019 a secretly recorded video was published of a July 2017 meeting in Ibiza, Spain, which appeared to show the then opposition politicians Heinz-Christian Strache and Johann Gudenus discussing their party's underhanded practices and intentions.

[16][17][18] In the video, both politicians appeared receptive to proposals by a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch, discussing providing the FPÖ positive news coverage in return for government contracts.

[21] On 3 June Brigitte Bierlein and her independent technocratic interim government was sworn into office by President Alexander Van der Bellen.

The standard duration of the legislative period of the National Council is five years, by the end of which it must be renewed through an election on a Sunday or a public holiday.

[35] The Green Party achieved their best electoral results ever, in part at the expense of the SPÖ, and was viewed as a potentially viable coalition partner, although such a conservative-green alliance would have unprecedented at the national level in Austria and would have required compromise on policy positions by both sides.

[36] President Van der Bellen met with Kurz on Monday, 7 October 2019 to charge him with the task of forming a new government.

[39] The Green Party leader, Werner Kogler, is a veteran of coalition talks with the ÖVP that failed on an earlier occasion after the 2002 election.

The party leaders of SPÖ, FPÖ and NEOS also agreed to take part in the exploratory talks, which are the first step to form a new government.

[48] After conferring with numerous ÖVP leaders around the country by phone over the weekend, Kurz announced his party's unity in favor of formal coalition negotiations with the Greens, rather than with the Social Democrats.

[50] Austria's younger generation has greater political clout than elsewhere because the voting age was lowered to 16, thus increasing their demographic share of the electorate.

Major topics on which the two ideologically disparate parties had to strive to reach common ground are migration (refugees/immigration/integration), education, the economy, and transparency in government.

President Van der Bellen and NEOS welcomed the breakthrough announced by Kurz Monday morning, while the FPÖ criticized him for "delivering Austria to the Greens".

The prospect of Austria being governed by a coalition of conservatives and greens was a novel development on the western European political landscape at a national level, and was watched with anticipation from the outside.

[56] Based on preliminary data reported as of 1700 on polling day, the breakdown by party is as follows: ÖVP 36.61% - SPÖ 22.89% - FPÖ 17.94% - GRÜNE 11.43% - KPÖ 6.02% - NEOS 5.10%.

[59] Austria is an international outlier in giving youth in 16-18 age range the right to vote, and thus a stake in the political game and an ability to help shape their country's future.

The Greens won five basic mandates outright, three of them in the Graz district, and received one more in the second stage of the seat-allocation process, bringing their total of 6, thereby doubling their strength in the Landtag.

On Monday, 16 December 2019, ÖVP and SPÖ presented an agreement for a joint government dubbed „Koalition weiß-grün“ (White-Green Coalition), which eschewed reference to the two parties' traditional political colors (black and red, respectively).

Because of the shift in respective electoral support for the two parties, the ÖVP had one more seat in the provincial government, filled by ex-minister Juliane Bogner-Strauß.

The immediate task of the re-constituted body consisted of electing its three presiding officers (one each from the three largest parties), installing in the new state government pursuant to the coalition agreement, and designating Styria's nine representatives in the Bundesrat, the upper chamber of Austria's bicameral national parliament.

Prospective ministers were to pay courtesy calls to federal president Van der Bellen, who wished to confer with each one of them prior to them being sworn in.

[68] The party's internal rules required at least one week notice, and the delegates had yet to see the full text of the coalition agreement on which they were to vote.

While this is easily translated as transparency, it is a somewhat more expansive concept in Austrian political discourse that encompasses open government, freedom of information, ethics in public life, and the fight against corruption.

Kogler echoed President van der Bellen's message of national unity by quoting him for the proposition that "if you love your country, you don't split it."

No mention was made of a carbon tax or any specific policy measures or of the allocation of portfolios in the new government,[72] at least half of which are expected to be assumed by women.

[73] The floor vote followed an open-mic session in which speakers had two minutes each to make statements, which some delegates used to voice criticism about the party having made too many concessions on core Green principles and positions, such as with respect to expansion of police powers and pretrial detention of persons deemed public security risks, and policies that reflect a contempt for human rights.

According to preliminary results, the SPÖ garnered close to 50% of the votes, which translates into a majority in the provincial legislature, making a coalition with another party unnecessary.

Doskozil benefited from high personal popularity and from the "Governor-bonus" despite being handicapped in his re-election campaigning by a subdued voice related to vocal cord problems.