Politics Unofficial

Flying change from the ÖVP to the Ländle-SPÖ

Halil Calim (pictured far right) will run for the SPÖ in the regional elections. The ÖVP is astonished.

(Bild: evarauch photography)

Halil Calim was actually supposed to be campaigning for the ÖVP in the regional elections. Now, however, he is running for the Vorarlberg Social Democrats. The change of course is not to the Black Party's liking.

Green state parliamentary candidate Vahide Aydin already showed the way in 2009: in the state parliamentary elections, she won so many preferential votes in the Turkish community that she overtook Bernd Bösch from Lustenau in the Dornbirn district. He had to enter parliament via the state list - while Karin Fritz from Bludenz lost her seat. Aydin also successfully campaigned for preferential votes in the subsequent state elections. This ultimately prompted the leaders of the other parties to look for vote catchers among the population of Turkish origin. So far, however, without much success.

This made ÖVP National Councillor Norbert Sieber all the more proud to recently present Halil Calim as a potential candidate: A clever mind. An economic expert. And someone who is well connected in Turkish associations. The Bregenz district party chairman Roland Frühstück was not averse, but could not promise the previously rather unknown ÖVP member a top position on the list.

The Black Party in Bregenz must have looked quite astonished last week when the SPÖ presented its state list. They found a familiar face in fifth place: Halil Calim. The potential hopeful of the ÖVP will therefore be going on the hunt for votes for the Reds in the fall. "We perhaps didn't expect him to be very ideologically firm, but we didn't expect him to switch parties on the fly either," commented Sieber on Calim's resignation from the party, which arrived at virtually the same time as the SPÖ candidate presentation.