Election campaign with Lugner

“Lots of people come and it costs us nothing”

(Bild: Zwefo)

He not only has a heart for female animals, but also for politics. Master builder Richard Lugner welcomes "all parties to his shopping city, because lots of people come and it costs us nothing". On Saturday, Andreas Schieder, SPÖ top candidate for the EU elections, tried his luck there and was given a very warm welcome. The "Krone" accompanied him.

Richard Lugner personally greeted his political guest and clearly attracted more attention than the actual "celebrity". Visitors secretly filmed and photographed the 91-year-old, who is about to marry for the sixth time. Many also took a selfie. Andreas Schieder took this in his stride, as Lugner only stopped by briefly, after which the stage belonged to the SPÖ election campaigner all by himself again.

Schieder as a good-humored professional
Schieder has many election campaigns behind him and you can tell. He is a professional, he approaches people, is friendly and appears to be in a good mood. The Viennese also feels comfortable on stage. His topics are social democratic through and through: jobs, combating inflation, tax justice, peace and neutrality.

Andreas Schieder on the road as a political professional

(Bild: Zwefo)

(Bild: Zwefo)

(Bild: Zwefo)

"Many Austrians come to me and say, Mr. Schieder, I'm desperate because costs have been galloping away for the last three years and my life has really become more and more expensive, and I can almost no longer afford it. And unfortunately that's true because we have an Austrian government that did nothing when the price of gas went up. Then the price of gas jumped to the price of electricity, they continued to do nothing, then the price of electricity jumped to the cost of living, and they continued to do nothing. And this inaction on the part of the government is exactly what many Austrians are madly sick of and which must finally come to an end. We need a government that looks at the people again," shouts Schieder from the stage.

Schieder is a practiced campaigner

(Bild: Zwefo)

"Building good washing machines again"
One of his biggest election campaign themes is his "Europe First instead of Made in China" package. It is about investing in Europe's industry, technology and economy to bring back jobs and achieve progress. Schieder proposes an "EU transformation fund" to finance investments in measures to reduce CO₂ emissions. 

Schieder talks about broken washing machines that are completely thrown away because of a small plastic part. He wants to change that. "I'm not in favor of throwing things away, I'm in favor of repairing good things. With my 'Europe first' plan, we can build good washing machines again."

Groovy music and sandwiches
The event is accompanied by groovy music from the young band "Gigstar". The food was particularly well received: There is a snack (sandwich or schnitzel roll) and a drink (beer or non-alcoholic) for just one euro. Many people take a bite here and stay seated for longer.

The SPÖ's Young Generation has set up its own stand, and its chairman Michael Kögl and young EU candidate Julian Krismer are also there, busily collecting votes.