FPÖ mayor

The blue man who will soon rule Unternberg

Fanninger (back, 3rd from right) with his team and wife Maria (to his right) at the election party in Unternberg on Sunday evening.(Bild: Holitzky Roland)

Andreas Fanninger narrowly claimed victory in the Lungau municipality. Ahead of the run-off elections, he is the only FPÖ mayor in Salzburg to have made it to the top seat in the first round.

Maurer against Zimmermann, FPÖ against ÖVP: In Unternberg, Andreas Fanninger from the blue party won against Peter Sagmeister from the ÖVP. With 351 votes (50.9 percent), Fanninger (42) is already the only blue mayor in Salzburg. In black Lungau, the FPÖ man is an exception. What did he do differently to his blue colleagues elsewhere? "At municipal level, the election is personal. I visited over 200 households in the municipality," is how he explains his victory.

But who is the man about whom little can be found on the internet? Fanninger grew up on a farm in Unternberg and completed an apprenticeship as a bricklayer in Tamsweg. He married his wife Maria in 2005. He can regularly be found at the Red Bull Arena, where he and his daughters (15, 17) cheer on the Bulls as season ticket holders. The mayor's job means a change for the family: as a foreman on major construction sites, he used to spend four days a week on the road; in the next five years, Fanninger will spend more time at home. "I'm giving up the job," announces the designated local leader.

He has already gained experience as deputy mayor of the village with a population of 1043. Fanninger does not yet know who from the ÖVP will be his deputy. He is counting on "good cooperation" in the municipal council: "My job is to take on board the wishes of the people of Unternberg and implement them. Let's see if there are any political headwinds."