Unofficial politics

Haslauer misses Preuner

Governor Wilfried Haslauer and Mayor Bernhard Auinger negotiate the financing for the major S-Link project.

(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

The governor now has to negotiate S-Link funding with a red man. This is going better than expected. Provincial deputy Marlene Svazek, on the other hand, is the "most self-critical of all".

The "golden age" has recently come to an end for the city and state. This is how Governor Wilfried Haslauer describes the era when he was head of the province and his friend and best man Harald Preuner was mayor of the provincial capital. This phase lasted from 2017 to 2024. "It's no secret that I was able to work particularly well with him," says Haslauer about his ÖVP friend.

This week, the state government took stock of one year of the joint coalition.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

On Friday, he ceremoniously awarded Preuner the Ring of the Province for his services in the Residence. Haslauer now has to make do with SPÖ mayor Bernhard Auinger. However, this is apparently less bad than it sounds. Although the two have completely opposing opinions on the major S-Link project, for example. For Haslauer, this is "a very important project", for Auinger it is far too expensive. The two recently negotiated the financing for this major project for the first time.

Both the governor and Auinger emphasize that the talks were "very constructive". Haslauer goes one step further: "I think we will come to a consensus." Until then, however, a lot of water will still be flowing down the Salzach, and on November 10, the citizens of Salzburg, Flachgau and Tennengau will have their say in the referendum.

Depending on the result, there will be plenty of room for self-reflection on the part of the supporters and opponents after the survey. This is likely to be fierce on the part of the state government. After all, Haslauer's deputy Marlene Svazek (FPÖ) made people sit up and take notice during the assessment of one year of the black-blue coalition: "We are the most self-critical of all," she said there. Black and Blue have done a good job of hiding this so far. Perhaps the sparks fly more often in the quiet chamber than one would think. Because at the feel-good event "One year of black and blue", not a single self-critical word was heard about their own work.