A swing to the right in austria after snap elections first results have the conservative Peoples Party led by sebastian corks on course to win well take you live to vienna coming up. Welcome to the show my names sara harmon its good to have you with us we turn first to the german state of lower saxony where the first results are coming in in Regional Elections now these Elections Come just three weeks after the National Vote and theyre seen as an important barometer of Voter Sentiment as chancellor merkel tries to form a Coalition Government a poor result from Eccles Christian democrats could weaken her position in those Coalition Talks opinion polls ahead of the vote put her neck and neck with the social democrats the far right alternative for germany was forecast to Enter Parliament in the state for the very first time. Im joined here in the studio by Thomas Sparrow from our Politics Department and ive also got michelle a cook in our reporting for us live from hanover well be speaking to her in just a minute. Thomas lets start with you tell us about lower saxony what kind of place is it why does this vote matter so much lower saxony is one of germanys biggest states and in fact the election was not supposed to happen right now just off the federal election but one m p one local m. P. Changed her allegiance from the green party to the c. D. U. And that meant that the governing coalition in lower saxony lost its parliamentary majority and that meant that they have to have this election right now and as you said this could obviously set the tone and the mood for the debate here in berlin after and thomas i understand that we do now have the first results and it is some bad news for america and her christian democrats these are exit polls were going to share the now with you the city you party is coming in second with thirty five percent of the vote based on our exit polling data the social democrats or the s. P. D. Are the big winners here they made some big gains coming out on top with thirty seven point five percent now these are exit polls they could still change but the green party looks to be in third with eight point five percent of the vote in the are saxony the liberal probusiness f. T. P. Or Free Democrat Party took seven percent of the vote there in lower saxony the left party looking to take four point eight percent which is not enough to clear the hurdle you need five percent in germany in order to get seats in parliament plu you can see that the right wing alternative from germany took five point five percent of the vote that looks to be enough to get it into parliament in the state of lower saxony but of course that could change because we are talking about exit polls. And we will bring you up to date with the latest as we get it thats the situation right now though as it stands. All right thomas you heard c. D. U. In second place thats bad news for miracle what does it mean for her concretely that well it is bad news for merkel is probably not. A surprise if you look at some of the latest opinion polls that we had although they were neck and neck the two biggest parties in lower saxony the social democrats did seem to have a slight advantage and obviously the fact that they see to you if we judge by these initial numbers has not been able to get the first position is obviously a bad news for merkel and it could make his situation a bit more difficult when it comes to trying to form a coalition at the federal level next week in germany those negotiations will start in fact those negotiations were postponed until this Regional Election in lower saxony because the big parties here in berlin didnt want to interfere with the. Activities of the politicians in lower saxony but it certainly could be very difficult for merkel if these results are confirmed and i want to get a live reaction to these exit polls now from hanover weve got michelle a coon are standing by in lower saxony for us michelle this is not looking good for america people actually thought according to opinion polls that she her party rather would come in first now they look to be in second place how bad is this. Well they were slightly prepared because recently the opinion polls were a bit more on the up side for the social democrats that took such a beating in those general elections and up to come running up to those general elections suffered a lot of psychological blows losing one Regional Election after the other now they appear to have won one quite clearly putting christian democrats into second place thats too little too late for them as far as the German Government coalition is concerned and also it sends a signal to berlin that those talks are going to get even more complicated because if you have the social democrats forming trying to form a government here you know they might most likely approach the green party which is much further to the left than a lot of their ideology their politike parts are at the federal level now this could just make it even harder in berlin to form that potential coalition with the green party and the free democrats having said that this is a psychological. Basically boost for the social democrats who were beaten so badly and of course of the condit Martin Schultz who still licking his wounds in berlin all right we were looking at exit polls earlier michel that showed the far right a d. With five point five percent of the vote as you know that is enough to Enter Parliament in local saxony how is that going to change things. Well if they make it this is still shaky ground these are the first exit polls coming out i spoke to the partys leader york morrison whos here in hanover tonight and i asked him what his expectation was and his expectation was to be solidly in this Regional Parliament this is not solid yet they seem to be making it by the skin of the teeth of the interesting aspect of course is also that the left party might not make it and that would deprive the social democrats of a potential Coalition Partners so once again the electorate here has dealt those who will now have to form a government very difficult set of cards all right lets come back to thomas in the studio for just a second thomas youve been watching and hotly anticipating is a lot of policy wonks have these Coalition Talks that kick up next week how do you see the result we have the exit poll result in lower saxony influencing those Coalition Talks well it depends obviously what type of Government Coalition could be formed in lower saxony but the fact that im going im a call on her conservatives did not manage to get that first place in lower saxony again judging by these results could indeed change the mood in berlin or at least affect the mood in berlin when it comes to these first negotiations next week next week Angela Merkel conservative bloc will meet with the f. T. Be the liberals and also with the greens to try and form what here in germany we know is the Jamaica Coalition judging by the colors of the three parties that theyre meeting and even before this Regional Election here in lower saxony when you have those conversations those negotiations will be extremely difficult because the parties do not necessarily agree on many issues if you judge by their migration policies Climate Policies their policies on on europe there are many many difference differences between the f. T. P. The green and the conservative blog and even within the conservative blogs there were a series of difference although in recent days they managed to at least find some Common Ground and that Common Ground is the position that theyre going to bring to the table next week when they meet. The parties are certainly going to have a lock to talk about when those talks kick off michelle a company are standing there in hanover tell us a little bit about lower saxony as a place for our International Viewers is it representative of germany that the c. D. U. Is coming in behind the s. P. D. This was a Regional Election no its not representative there will were a lot of issues bread issues like Agriculture Policy and education that played a very large role in his so this yes was a test of the both ballot book six Million People called upon to vote sexy the second largest states but in germany very often these Regional Elections are also a very regional affair on regional issues are a regional affair on regional issues lets just remind our International Viewers what the results are as we have them in the exit polling so they could still change but exit polls show bad news for ongoing medical enter christian democrats the c. D. U. You see those numbers there in black theyre coming in second with thirty five percent of the vote social democrats or the s. P. D. Are the big winners in lower saxony they made gains coming out on top with thirty seven point five percent the green party came in third with eight point five percent the liberal probusiness f. T. P. Taking a seven percent lower saxony the left party took four point eight percent and thats not enough to clear the five percent hurdle you need to Enter Parliament here in germany the right wing alternative for germany currently has five point five percent thats just over the threshold they need to Enter Parliament lower saxony but again these are exit polls theyre not not final update you as we get new information for now michelle and cooking are reporting for us in hanover thanks for that and thomas covenant excuse me Thomas Sparrow im getting all confused here thank you very much for you and i just. All right its a big election sunday were going to take you to austria where we have a sharp turn to the right in those polls early results show the conservative Peoples Party with a firm lead the partys thirty one year old foreign minister Sebastian Cortes is tipped to become chancellor curts is expected to go into government with the far right Freedom Party which is in a close race for second place and which campaigned on an anti immigration anti islam platform. I reporter max hoffman as indiana macsween hair hearing that you have some new information for us regarding this election what can you tell us. We have new projections coming in as we speak of course always have to remind everybody that the results we have are not final but it looks like at the moment least that the social democrats might come in second which at least would sort of be a moral victory sebastien course of the if the conservatives the thirty one year old leader of that party still a clear first he will have the duty to form a new government maybe with the third or at least of the party that comes in third at the moment with is of course the f. B. I. Or the right wing populist party. Arent sebastian course set to be the next chancellor of austria based on the numbers youre giving us what kind of world expect from the chancellor course. Thats a very good question and Sebastian Cortez has been very detailed with his program because the program mainly consists of of himself being himself he shaped the whole party towards his image and he was quite outspoken when it came to migration policy but hes been that way for years also as a foreign minister so he really didnt have anything new to add there and thats why theres a certain void as what hes really going to do what were certainly going to see in austria. Bearing any huge surprises is that the country move to the right because both right wing parties if lp the conservatives and the right wing populist the f. B. I. Have gained a significant numbers five to six percent at least those are the numbers we have at the moment so the whole country will go to the right on a european level that means they will probably be less prone to accept what for example the french president on monday when the call is planning for europe they will probably have more in common with countries like hungry in poland or the Czech Republic the socalled states than they will have with. Ads or germany but you know campaign is one thing governing is another thing they will have to hash out a Coalition Contract and then well really see clearly what they have in mind for austria not only talking more about austrias future in just a minute max but first lets take a look now at how immigration has shaped the australian lection thirty one year old Sebastian Cortes only became leader of the Peoples Party in may since then besides economic reform he has made immigration the cornerstone have his election campaign. And im going to strike a very clear path which is going to reduce illegal migration to zero who sets off illegally must be stopped at the border taken care of and sent back it cant be that the traffickers decide who gets through and not we as a republic or the European Union. His views echo those of the anti immigration far right Freedom Party. From indiscriminate Mass Immigration from outside europe naturally islamist terror into the heart of europe. And what we have now is that through the many associations structures and mosques there is such a tenacious and dangerous structure that i say ban the radical islamic organizations mosques and kindergartens and expel their members im sure. His words found favor with austrians who fear the country is losing its National Identity could went into the election a strong favorite to be austrias next leader. But he will still need a Coalition Partner will it be the far right Freedom Party. Incumbent chancellor Christian Karen of the social democrats started the Campaign Strongly but he became bogged down in internal scandals and accusations against the media that played into the hands of his opponents who are also busy trying to outdo each other on immigration control. All right immigration the name of the game lets go back to max hoffman in vienna max what are these results say about voters attitudes on the issue of migration is austria just more refugee than anyone thought. I think we should be careful with what makes up anti refugee doesnt mean that everybody is on the same page when it comes to migration policy but one things for certain and that is austria is part of the two major migration routes into the European Union the western Balkans Route from syria for example there at the end of that or the mediterranean route from africa across the mediterranean up it will be to austria as well and it seems to worry a lot of voters here in austria at least the Freedom Party and the conservative if the party had gained Percentage Points worth stressing this topic a lot in the party. It is more open has lost big time theyre probably the biggest losers of this election the green party the projections now show did not even be part of the parliament which would mean they lost eight to nine percent we havent talked much about the greens but they are pro migration and its apparently among other things now a big problem for them so yes you could say for austrias at least theyre very anxious about the topic of migration very anxious about. That being overrun by migration although the migration crisis itself that we saw in two thousand and fifteen is basically over but still as you can see big topic in austria a big topic there in austria have a closer look now at those latest exit polls you were telling us about a little earlier we can pull up a graphic now for our viewers this shows the conservative Peoples Party led by sebastian courts are at thirty one point six percent thats the figure and bloc the far right Freedom Party have twenty five point nine percent and that puts them ever so slightly behind the social democrats led by austrias current chasseur christian can they have twenty seven point one percent you see that figure in red if you look at the smaller parties liberal neos have five point one percent there are big losses as max said for the greens there on three point eight percent according to the exit polling data peter post says list thats a party founded by a former green zone maker has four point four percent and in austria you need four percent of the vote to secure seats in parliament. All right max so anything you want to add to this before we leave you there in austria when it was just a final thought our viewers should have about the austrian election. Yet but those are actually a projections which are more reliable than exit polls because the bank lie on real data not just on what people say they they voted for