Christof Bitschi:

“Positions and titles have never been important to me”

Christof Bitschi and his fellow campaigners had every reason to celebrate in Bregenz on Sunday evening.

(Bild: DIETMAR STIPLOVSEK / APA / picturedesk.com)

FPÖ provincial party leader Christof Bitschi believes that coalition negotiations are about content, not positions. Family, security and the business location are the three topics that he believes must also be reflected in a possible coalition agreement. 

"Krone": Mr. Bitschi, how long did the election party last on Sunday evening?
Christof Bitschi: Even though my voice was a little shaky in the morning, it was appropriate for my age. I wasn't the last one to go home.

Have you already received calls from the federal party leader or the governor regarding coalition talks?
Herbert Kickl called on election night to congratulate you. We didn't talk about a possible coalition with the ÖVP. In contrast to his predecessors, who often got in touch, he lets the federal states work and decide for themselves. I received a call from the governor's office on Monday. We will have our first talks on Tuesday.

Do you have any coalition conditions?
We will hopefully talk about portfolios and the number of government members at the end. I am primarily concerned with the focus of content. In our election manifesto, we focused on the topics of family, security and location policy. These topics should of course be reflected in a possible coalition program.

I am not interested in portfolios, but in having a program that will move Vorarlberg forward again.

Christof Bitschi

Since people keep talking about the fact that Hubert Gorbach allowed himself to be fobbed off relatively cheaply with the title of provincial governor in 1999 - how important is this office to you?
Positions and titles have never been important to me. But once again: I'm not interested in portfolios at the moment, but in having a program that will bring Vorarlberg forward again after years of stagnation. So it's also about preventing a black-green coalition. The conditions for the economy must improve as quickly as possible. We can no longer afford delays and stagnation.

What should the timetable look like? Will you be sworn in as provincial councillor at the constituent meeting on November 6?
Our party executive met on Monday evening and nominated people who can enter into coalition negotiations. Markus Wallner has presented a very tight schedule, but it should be feasible. With urgent issues on the agenda, we should not end up with a situation like the one in Vienna.

Markus Wallner has also said this several times recently.
Then we are already in agreement.