Plakolm euphoric

EU election: “ÖVP a winner with young voters”

(Bild: krone.tv)

Claudia Plakolm, ÖVP State Secretary for Digitalization, Youth and Civilian Service, sees the result of the EU election as a major mobilization factor for the first ranks. In the krone.tv talk with Jana Pasching, she explains that the party must now emphasize what it stands for, as this has not always been easy with the coalition partner. 

Worse was feared after the last EU election polls, but in the end the ÖVP came within one percent of the winner, the FPÖ. "For us, this means that we must continue to work consistently and now begin the race to catch up towards the fall, towards the national elections. It was surprising that we came so close to the first-placed candidates. That's a good mobilization factor for our own ranks," says Plakolm.

It is no secret that it was not always easy with the coalition partner, the Greens, and that there were many content-related disputes. That is why it is more important than ever to emphasize what you stand for.

Claudia Plakolm, ÖVP State Secretary for Digitalization, Youth and Civilian Service in the krone.tv talk

(Bild: krone.tv)

"Young people want to have their say"
Plakolm is particularly proud of the fact that the party came first in the European elections among young voters and recorded an increase of four percent. Like the SPÖ, the ÖVP received 20 percent of the under-30 vote, but made the biggest gains among young voters. "Young people want to be represented by politicians and have their say." In an election campaign year like this year, it is not necessarily inviting for young people to participate or join a party. "It's not necessarily the kind of atmosphere where you say: yes, I want to have my say now." According to Plakolm, this is probably because there is too little focus on what we have in common.

Digitalization as an opportunity
Just a few days ago, the ÖVP politician presented the digitization support for municipalities. 120 million euros are available, provided that they support their residents in registering for ID Austria. The State Secretary sees in digitalization "an incredible number of opportunities in everyday life and also on the part of politics and administration, the possibility of becoming a modern state." But there are also reservations, some of which are justified, according to Plakolm.

Watch the video above to see what the municipal package brings and much more information!