There is criticism

Rieder SPÖ cancels home visits due to lying affair

Peter Stummer, the deputy mayor of Ried, is calling for Luger's resignation(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

Following the affair surrounding Linz mayor Klaus Luger, criticism from within the SPÖ is growing. Comrades from the Innviertel and Wels are now even publicly calling for Luger to step down as mayor of the provincial capital.

Klaus Luger is facing strong headwinds from his own ranks in the Innviertel. For Peter Stummer, deputy mayor of Ried, Luger's resignation as head of the Linz city party is far too little. He is also clearly calling for him to step down as mayor: "Corrupt people should have no place in politics," Stummer posted on Facebook.

The post by Stummer(Bild: ZVG)

Constantly confronted with the issue
Within a very short time, he received a lot of support. In an interview with the "Krone" newspaper, Stummer revealed that the red Rieder want to do without house calls in the National Council election campaign because of the Luger case. The party leadership is in agreement, but talks with the parliamentary group are still pending. Stummer: "We would be constantly confronted with the issue. How are we supposed to explain to people that we honestly mean it when such a high-ranking politician acts in this way?"

Criticism from Wels too
Calls for his resignation have also come from the comrades in Wels. SP city party leader and deputy mayor Klaus Schinninger: "The only option is Luger's resignation - as mayor and party chairman."

Klaus Schinninger from Wels(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

Other issues more important
Peter Schobesberger, the red city leader of Vöcklabruck, is more diplomatic. "Our issue is justice, and we will convince people of this in the election campaign. The best way to do this is through personal discussions, which is why we won't be giving up home visits." Incidentally, the SP mayor of Leonding, Sabine Naderer-Jelinek, and National Councillor Elisabeth Feichtinger from Altmünster were unwilling to comment. The SP mayor of Steyr, Markus Vogl, and his Gallneukirchen counterpart, Sepp Wall-Strasser, could not be reached by telephone on Thursday.

Upper Austria's SP party leader Michael Lindner was also clear. Luger had done the SPÖ a disservice, he said in an interview with ORF Upper Austria.