It is going to be a close race in the.......>

AUSTRIA: It is going to be a close race in the Austrian elections on Sunday,

15th October according to polls.

- As of now, polls suggest that the conservative OVP party will become the

largest and that it will be a tight race for second place between the

centre-left SPO and the right-wing populist FPO. 

- HSBC Economists, Stefan Schilbe and Rainer Sartoris argue that the recent

disagreements between the members of the current Austrian Grand Coalition (the

SPO and OPV) are likely to mean the end of the coalition. This means that there

is a chance that the right-wing populist party might feature in the next

coalition. Such developments would be a headache for the EU's mainstream

politicians as there are fears that Austria may align itself with Poland and

Hungary to challenge Brussels on issues such as further EU integration.

- Preliminary results are likely Sunday evening. Coalition talks might take some

time, over 100 days in 2013.