Guesswork in Wachau

Suddenly “everything is open” again for the Danube bridge

Close-ups of rusted-through areas show the poor condition of the Mautern Danube Bridge. "It urgently needs to be renovated," says the FPÖ.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/FPÖ NÖ)

The Danube crossing, which was thought to be dead and was intended to relieve traffic in the Wachau during the necessary bridge renovation, is now being examined again after all. The result: nobody in Mautern knows anything about it anymore.

Is it coming or not? Of course, we are not talking about the new - renovated - bridge between Mautern and Krems, but the temporary crossing during the construction work. Transport Minister Udo Landbauer had actually rejected this in the summer. Too expensive and - because it has to be dismantled again after three years - too unecological.

Blue self-praise, pink criticism
At the urging of the citizens, the government in St. Pölten, which includes the governor responsible for tourism, wants to get back on track. And while the Freedom Party in the person of Hubert Keyl is now praising his own party colleague for his "responsible and citizen-oriented" approach, including the controversial and often derided Blue Party election campaign slogan "Your will be done", the Neos are keen to identify plenty of contradictions.

Neos criticize "uncertainty"
In particular, the question of whether and when the old bridge is in danger of collapsing, as announced in a post, is a source of irritation for the Pinks. They now want to clear up misinformation with a question to the Black-Blue government. And they want to know whether the "two-bridge solution" favored by the Neos themselves has ever been tested.