Tiring election campaign

The spook is finally over again on Sunday

Once again in the forest of election posters

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Neos, SPÖ, FPÖ, Grüne, ÖVP)

The unexciting, rather tiring election campaign is drawing to a close. There were hardly any new messages, but one or two insights saw the light of day.

Just a few more days and the spook is finally over. Thank goodness, you can hear more and more people longing for the coming election Sunday. Over the past few weeks, and probably right up to the final, promises have been made for all they're worth. From A for sufficient wages to fair housing prices, help for all sectors of the economy, relief for transit and for the climate anyway and, of course, all sorts of things to maintain social peace, or rather to restore it.

Letter to the Christ Child
So let's look forward to Monday and the "perfect world" in Tyrol and throughout Austria. Of course, all the promises are more reminiscent of a letter to the Christ Child than of real politics. However, among all the election campaigns and promises, some of them "shine", as a selection shows.

"Cut the salaries of politicians" - simple market cries.

(Bild: Meinert Claus)

For example, the Tyrolean SPÖ - which is doing anything but well in the polls - campaigned at all costs, or rather without any inhibitions. For example, during a visit to the "s' zenzi" social center in Zirl. The inmates were confronted with phrases such as "Where are you from?" in the middle of a meal, and were actually disturbed and harassed to the point where their soup spoons almost stuck in their throats. Apparently, however, when a state radio camera is present, there is no longer any embarrassment. But the ORF team responsible also lacked this, at least in this case.

Age-old topic of "cheaper housing"
Being coy is certainly not one of the virtues of the Tyrolean KPÖ top candidate Pia Tomedi. She and her party are advertising "cheaper housing" on posters, just as they did (successfully) in the local council election campaign in Innsbruck. An age-old theme, but above all there is no announcement as to how this is to be implemented. With expropriation? Or with the money that they want to divert from politicians' salaries? Because the KPÖ also wants to do this - cut politicians' salaries.

That sounds like a good way to win votes. But what will it achieve at the end of the day? Possibly that even fewer "good" candidates will be found in the future to take on the life of a politician.

Late realization
It is also astonishing when, for example, a long-standing member of the National Council comes to the end of his political life and says: "Politics must return to the grassroots and listen more to the people." Hermann Gahr (ÖVP) revealed this insight in an interview with his favorite newspaper, the "Tiroler Tageszeitung". Gahr is leaving the National Council after 25 years with this insight. Of course, he himself will be convinced that he has done a lot of things right, even if they have been little noticed by the population.

Of course, the Greens are not short of extraordinary announcements. For example, they recently said that a "political correction is needed in dealing with soil as a resource", as it has been "built and concreted at the drop of a hat" for far too long. They are calling for a soil protection offensive. This makes you wonder whether some representatives of this party are already showing signs of dementia. After all, the Greens were in government in Tyrol from 2013 to 2022, so they would have had plenty of time to take action.

The Blue Party hardly stood out, which is probably due to the fact that their motto was "hold back and don't make any mistakes, then not much can happen".

The "spook" will be over on Sunday with the first projection (5 pm). If everything goes according to plan, Tyrol will then have two election-free years. State elections will not be held until 2027, followed by local council and federal presidential elections in 2028.