No longer a member

Matthias Strolz also resigns from the NEOS

Matthias Strolz is not only turning his back on politics.

(Bild: APA/Georg Hochmuth)

"The gentian blooms when the gentian blooms," said the Vorarlberg native at a press conference in Dornbirn on Wednesday morning. He doesn't want to lie, but rather tell it like it is. And so a chapter in his life in which there is no more room for politics is closing. He is resigning his membership of the NEOS.

The end of his party political career is the result of a long maturing process, said Strolz. And that was over when it was over, he said in his typical manner. Over the past week, he said, he had gained clarity about his own future and did not want to hold back. Asked whether he was appearing at a NEOS press conference for the last time, Strolz said: "I don't know." If he was asked and wanted to take part, he would be happy to do so. "We will remain in contact, working together, with clarity of roles," explained the Vorarlberg native, who lives in Vienna. And it is equally clear that he will be voting for the NEOS in the National Council elections.

Education Minister
Around a week ago, Strolz had positioned himself as the future Minister of Education, but then declared on Tuesday that he wanted to withdraw from party politics and devote himself to non-party peace projects. He also emphasized this on Wednesday. Strolz did not want to comment further on his willingness to become Education Minister on Wednesday. That was ultimately not his decision, "and I don't want to go into that any further", he said. The NEOS had not publicly commented on his advances regarding a government office.

Strolz did, however, support the Vorarlberg NEOS state spokesperson Claudia Gamon and the Vorarlberg top candidate for the National Council elections, Johannes Gasser, in their call for the expansion of extended all-day care. In the interests of the children, they demanded a legal entitlement to this. "We want to achieve great things, to be the driving force for educational reform," said Gamon, who is hoping for a black-pink state government after the Vorarlberg state elections on October 13. Since Bruno Kreisky, education had not been the focus of any government, criticized Strolz. "I believe that the NEOS would do Vorarlberg good," he emphasized.