Unofficial politics

Election polls, weather apps and whitewashing

Sophia Kircher from Innsbruck (pictured with LH Anton Mattle) is moving to the EU Parliament for the ÖVP. The 30-year-old is currently Vice-President of the state parliament. She sees herself as "Your voice for Tyrol" in the EU.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

What do election polls and all those weather apps have in common? They know the answer. Very little, except that they predict the blue sky and then things usually turn out quite differently. Of course, this comparison is a bit of a misnomer and can be dismissed with a smile ...

Far less laughable is the fact that voter turnout in Tyrol was by far the lowest in the country. Just 48% of those entitled to vote were able to get themselves together to take part in the EU elections, which take place every five years. Of course, you could say that voter turnout in Tyrol was already the lowest nationwide in the 1996, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 EU elections. And the third worst in 2019.

The Tyrolean People's Party may come up with a suitable explanation for this. After all, it can also take some positives from an electoral debacle with an almost 13 percent drop to less than 30 percent of the vote for the first time.

Sophia Kircher.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Kircher wants to act as "Your voice for Tyrol"
Speaking of positives: From the perspective of the Tyrolean People's Party, the entry of Sophia Kircher into the EU Parliament is of course pleasing. It remains to be seen how successful and influential the 30-year-old will be among the 719 other MEPs. After all, she wants to appear as "Your voice for Tyrol" - at least that's how she has been advertised. At least in her home town, the provincial capital of Innsbruck, this voice was heard rather little. There, 18.7% voted for the ÖVP, a drop of 8.2% and thus third place behind the SPÖ and the Greens.

In 2019, the ÖVP was still the party with the most votes in Innsbruck in the EU elections. We can wish the neo-EU MEP Kircher - who received a remarkable 23,000 preferential votes - all the best for her appearances on the new political stage and that her voice will be heard there.

Gerald Hauser.

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer / Kronenzeitung)

Hauser wants to "clean up Brussels"
 The same also applies to the second Tyrolean representative in the EU Parliament, the liberal veteran Gerald Hauser. The soon-to-be 63-year-old comes from St. Jakob im Defereggental in East Tyrol. His election result there? Less than Kircher. A modest 15.9% - the third worst result for the FPÖ of all 277 Tyrolean towns. The ÖVP achieved 53.8% there (despite -16.2%). In other words, more than three times as much as the FPÖ. Hauser, who has always weathered all storms within the party, is not afraid of paradigm shifts and developed crazy conspiracy theories during the coronavirus pandemic, wants to "clean up Brussels".

FP regional party leader Markus Abwerzger

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Most FPÖ mandataries "schmähstad"
 Speaking of cleaning up: As reported, the FPÖ Tyrol achieved the third worst result in a national comparison. Behind only Vorarlberg and "red" Vienna. Apparently, at least in Tyrol, the blue party does not have the horsepower on the streets that they are said to have. This was recently demonstrated by the municipal and mayoral elections in Innsbruck, where they achieved a weak 15%. Which is hardly surprising. With the exception of provincial party leader Markus Abwerzger and, to some extent, provincial MP Evelyn Achhorner, most FPÖ mandataries tend to be "schmähstad" and "inconspicuous" in the public debate.

Greens unusually quiet
The Greens, who are among the losers of this election in Tyrol, are unusually quiet and reserved. After the defeat for the mayor's seat in Innsbruck, now the next failure. Only the "flagship" Innsbruck (lost 6.6%) and Innsbruck-Land (-5.2%) remained in double figures. In the other seven districts of Tyrol there were single-digit results.