Unofficial politics

Who will become a state councillor for the Freedom Party?

FPÖ state leader Christof Bitschi has not yet commented on who could become state councillor.

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The FPÖ leader wants three government seats. He will fill one of them, and other hot candidates for a government office are Feldkirch Deputy Mayor Andrea Kerbleder, Hohenems City Councillor Markus Klien and Daniel Allgäuer.

Coalition negotiations between the ÖVP and FPÖ have been underway since Monday afternoon. While the two parties are not far apart on the major issues of the economy, security and families, the questions of who gets which portfolio and how many members of government the FPÖ will have are likely to cause more discussion.

The fact is that Christof Bitschi wants one more member of government than his previous partner (the Greens won just under 19% in 2019) due to the good election result (28%). It is unlikely that he will allow himself to be fobbed off by ÖPV leader Markus Wallner with two government seats and the position of provincial governor. This is only likely to succeed if Wallner hands over a few coveted and more prestigious portfolios such as economy, security or agriculture. Otherwise, Wallner will probably part company with Barbara Schöbi-Fink (63), State Councillor for Education.

Three candidates alongside Bitschi
In turn, Markus Klien, Hohenems city councillor for spatial, urban and transport planning, has a good chance of winning a position in the state government. The same applies to Feldkirch's Deputy Mayor Andrea Kerbleder, who is probably secretly eyeing the family portfolio. Daniel Allgäuer (60), who is also part of the FPÖ negotiating team, is anything but tired of office. If the blue party succeeds in wresting the agriculture portfolio from Christian Gantner, Allgäuer would be an even hotter contender for government office than he already is.