Farewell to politics

Petrik: “The human element was always important to me”

Petrik was the chairwoman of the Greens for a long time and has also been club leader since 2015. Now she is retiring from the political stage.

(Bild: LMS)

After 24 years with the Greens and almost ten years in the state parliament, Regina Petrik says goodbye - with composure and without melancholy. As a small opposition party, she has managed to introduce issues such as the bio-turnaround and the overall transport strategy. How things will continue now. 

The fire is still there, Petrik said yesterday at her last press conference as party leader. But she wants to use this fire for something other than politics before she retires. The 60-year-old had already announced last year that she would not be standing in the next state elections. She has used the time since then to slowly let go:

It was the right time.

Regina Petrik

Many issues raised
She is looking forward to her farewell - June 23 is her last day as a politician - with composure and without melancholy. Despite being a small opposition party, the Greens have succeeded in introducing many issues: From the concrete implementation of the organic turnaround, which came about thanks to the Greens' initiative, to the amendment of the Spatial Planning Act - which now provides for more soil protection - to the new overall transport strategy, in which regional bus routes and shared cabs can be found thanks to the Greens' groundwork. All these successes were made possible above all by persistence. "It was always important to me to have a human touch, to focus on finding solutions and not to conjure up the problem," says the Green.

Job tour was a formative experience
Her "Regina wants to know" job tours had a personal impact on her. During these tours, she repeatedly got a taste of different sectors, such as care, catering or working as a supermarket employee. For her political work, it was important for her to get to know the working reality of others.

"In my political work, I often found that many people first have a political opinion and then have it confirmed." She will not miss the fact that she will no longer be in the front row in her future job outside politics, nor will she miss the pressure to present herself to the outside world that comes with working as a top politician.

"Clear the stage"
She does not want to speak out politically in future. "If I'm asked for advice, I'm available. But I can do quite well without myself." Her mandate in the state parliament will be taken over by the new Green Party leader Anja Haider-Wallner. "Now the stage is clear for the others," says Petrik.