Decision to be made tomorrow

ÖVP has already decided on the successor to its provincial councillor

Governor Thomas Stelzer (right) lets his party colleague Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer move to Vienna.

(Bild: Loy Robert/Robert Loy)

At 9 o'clock this morning, ÖVP Upper Austria leader LH Thomas Stelzer confirmed that Provincial Councillor Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer is moving to Vienna to become Secretary General of the Chamber of Commerce. It is a foregone conclusion who will join the state government in Upper Austria. One thing is certain: it will not be State Secretary Claudia Plakolm.  

Chamber of Commerce President Harald Mahrer approached his colleagues in Upper Austria weeks ago: He would like Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer to become the new Secretary General and take over from Karl-Heinz Kopf. The state councillor for social affairs had thought long and hard about accepting the offer - and finally agreed. 

"We are a well-coordinated, well-coordinated team"
For the state party and LH Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP), this change was no easy matter, he told the "Krone" newspaper on Thursday morning: "You can imagine that the decision-making process is not an easy story for either of us. We are a well-coordinated, well-coordinated team."

Chamber of Commerce President Harald Mahrer brings Hattmannsdorfer to Vienna.

(Bild: Martin Jöchl)

The Upper Austrian ÖVP has been thinking for a long time about who could take over the social affairs portfolio. And they found what they were looking for. "The name of the person has already been decided. Stelzer will make a proposal at the state party executive on Friday," the "Krone" was told. It is already certain that this will be accepted. 

Deputy Mayor of Linz Martin Hajart waves it off
The Deputy Mayor of Linz, Martin Hajart, was brought into play by the media. He has experience in the state parliament and was most recently the office manager of State Health Councillor and Deputy Governor Christine Haberlander (ÖVP). In an interview with the "Krone" newspaper, however, he waves it off: "I love my provincial capital, we still have a lot to do here."

Staying in Vienna: State Secretary Claudia Plakom.

(Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK)

Plakolm will not be Hattmannsdorfer's successor
Two top functionaries from Upper Austria are being discussed, whose current place of work is Vienna: State Secretary Claudia Plakolm is considered capable of holding a ministerial office in the party, but the Mühlviertel native is so attached to her homeland that the job in the Upper Austrian state government could appeal to her. When asked by the "Krone", her entourage ruled this out. In other words: Plakolm, who leads the Mühlviertel constituency, wants to concentrate "with all her strength" on the election campaign and prefers Vienna to Linz.

August Wöginger (right) from Innviertel is a close confidant of Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer. Will he go back to Upper Austria?

(Bild: ÖVP-Klub)

"Wöginger would do us good, he's a political warhorse"
ÖVP party chairman August Wöginger has also been mentioned recently. The man from the Innviertel region is the social spokesman for his parliamentary group and knows the subject matter inside out. And that is also important, says a member of the state party executive: "Hattmannsdorfer's portfolio must be taken over by someone who continues with the same intensity, at the same pace and with the same competence. That is very demanding." Wöginger from the Innviertel region is believed to be capable of this. And further: "Wöginger would do us good, he is a political warhorse," says an ÖVP mandatary. 

LH Stelzer praises the work of Provincial Councillor Hattmannsdorfer
Stelzer was full of praise for Hattmannsdorfer on Thursday: "Many reforms have been tackled for the benefit of those who need them. If I just think of the skilled worker strategy in the care sector or the fact that we have now taken steps in the large social welfare associations to bundle competencies in order to make it better and easier to manage."