Center-left alliance?

The only thing left to decide is who will become Innsbruck’s mayor

The decision on who will be mayor will be made in just two weeks' time. The chemistry between Anzengruber and Willi seems to fit.

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

The Tyrolean capital is likely to be governed by a center-left coalition for the next six years. It does not seem to matter who becomes mayor in the run-off election in two weeks' time. In the municipal council, however, no stone is left unturned.

Shock overcome, tears of joy dried: Innsbruck will experience a new beginning, but in a different way than the bourgeois camp around Florian Tursky had dreamed of. His New Innsbruck was virtually worn down by party rebel Johannes Anzengruber - with the result that it is highly likely that the provincial capital will be governed by a center-left alliance in the future.

Johannes Anzengruber at the election party with his supporters

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

What will this look like? The "Krone" clarifies this and some other unanswered questions about the Innsbruck election.

Who has the better cards for the run-off?
Both incumbent Georg Willi and challenger Johannes Anzengruber consider themselves part of the "bourgeois center" and are therefore fishing in the same pond. But while Willi can be sure of the support of the left-wing parliamentary groups, the same is only partially true for Anzengruber and Neues Innsbruck or the FPÖ. Trenches have to be filled in first, quickly and thoroughly. Regardless of how the run-off election turns out, the most obvious coalition is that of the Greens, JA Anzengruber and SPÖ, which together have 22 seats out of 40 and could be supported by the KPÖ (3), ALI (2) and Liste Fritz (2). That is 29 out of 40 votes.

How will the city senate be made up?
The body currently has seven seats, an increase to 8 or 9 is possible, but difficult to negotiate in times of tight budgets. In the current constellation, the Greens and Anzengruber would each have two councillors and would already have a majority. The SPÖ is represented by one, New Innsbruck and the FPÖ by one. It will be interesting to see whether they will be given departmental leaderships or whether they will once again be allowed to join in as expensive strollers but not have a say. It is still unclear whether the new mayor will again be burdened with as many departmental responsibilities as Willi has been in the period since 2018.

Innsbruck's mayor Georg Willi at his election party

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Personnel consequences 
The municipal council has been dramatically rejuvenated by the election result, with six newcomers on both Willi's and Anzengruber's lists. The SPÖ has four new members, the KPÖ three and the ALI one. New Innsbruck has three newcomers and the FPÖ four. Looked at the other way around: Only a few of the veteran municipal councillors have survived politically. The small squad is led by Rudi Federspiel, whom no one can hold a candle to in this discipline. Which of the newcomers actually moves into the plenary chamber also depends on the result of the preferential vote. According to city law, this can change the order on the list.

Preferential votes
A high number of preferential votes for individual candidates can advance them further and "overtake" other candidates. This would result in a change in the composition of the municipal council group. Johannes Anzengruber was the preferred vote winner in 2018.

For Lassenberger (FP, left) and Tursky, only the role of spectator will remain for the next six years. They are the spearhead of the opposition.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Kommentar

Innsbruck wird sich verändern

SPÖ city party leader Benjamin Plach could hardly believe his luck on election night: When the result was projected onto the screens, he immediately began to do the math: Which majorities would work out? After realizing what was now possible, he jumped for joy from one leg to the other: Because now everything that had previously failed due to the resistance of the right-wing conservative alliance he had identified would work out. And that is quite a lot.

Innsbruck will change as a result of Sunday's shift to the left. Because nothing now stands in the way of the project for a traffic-calmed city center, a hobbyhorse of the Greens. Neither does the redesign of Bozner Platz - this can be "waved through" with the new, substantial majorities. The same applies to the redesign of the Landestheater forecourt: Bring it on! New guidelines for the allocation of housing: no problem! Will be done in the spirit of SP, Green and KPÖ!

The sticking point will be housing. And the election promises made that may not be kept, let alone financed. For example, more affordable rents. This is where the election manifestos will be subjected to the toughest reality check.