VIENNA, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Austria's center-right People's Party (OVP), led by former chancellor Sebastian Kurz, is currently in a comfortable lead in polling ahead of the Sept. 29 election, with a majority of poll respondents calling on it to form a left-leaning government.
The poll, conducted by market research institute OGM on behalf of the Kurier newspaper, has the OVP in the lead with 35 percent support.
It is followed by the Social Democrats (SPO) with 22 percent, and the right-wing populist Freedom Party (FPO) with 20 percent.
While speculation has largely centered on a potential return to an OVP-FPO coalition, this possibility was only backed by 32 percent of the 2,167 poll respondents.
In contrast, 53 percent said they supported the OVP forming a more left-leaning government, which according to the current polls could be achieved through an OVP-SPO coalition, or through the OVP entering into a three-party coalition with minor parties such as the Greens and the liberal NEOS.
While 77 percent of respondents confirmed their intention to vote in the election, 63 percent said they had already decided who they would be voting for.
