"New Innsbruck"

1.1 million euros for the ÖVP’s bitterest defeat

Florian Tursky's election campaign cost more than one million euros.

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer/APA/dpa/Patrick Seeger/Krone KREATIV)

The election campaign costs for the "Neues Innsbruck" parliamentary group in April are record-breaking. Around 1.1 million euros were spent. ÖVP members are wondering what Florian Tursky is now planning to do with the city VP.

The group "Florian Tursky - Das Neue Innsbruck" received exactly 6073 votes in the municipal elections in Innsbruck on April 14, almost seven months ago. In the run-up to the election, it was believed that the state capital could be recaptured by merging the "Für Innsbruck", People's Party and Seniors' Association groups, which had been at odds for many years.

However, the just under 6,000 votes mentioned at the beginning of this article represented the worst result in the history of the ÖVP in Innsbruck. Fifth place behind the Greens (11,286 votes), "Ja - Jetzt Innsbruck - Johannes Anzengruber" (10,067), "FPÖ - Rudi Federspiel" (9096) and the SPÖ (8122).

"Tursky-maker" Günther Platter (left) with LH Anton Mattle (center) and Florian Tursky after the bitter election defeat.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Poor result in the direct mayoral election too
Things did not look much better for Florian Tursky in the direct mayoral election. He only received 6156 crosses there too. This also meant fifth place behind Georg Willi (13,543), Johannes Anzengruber (11,455), Markus Lassenberger (9418) and Elisabeth Mayr (9000).

Accordingly, there were long faces among the Blacks on this memorable election evening on April 14 when they stood together in a pub in Innsbruck. Whereby "standing together" can only be taken literally, but certainly not symbolically for the state of the new grouping. Today, with only four seats on the local council, the newly forged alliance looks more like a shambles than a strong group.

During the election campaign, the "New Innsbruck" list's purse strings were loose.

(Bild: vegefox.com - stock.adobe.com)

60 percent above the planned budget
However, the big story in this troublesome ÖVP affair was the election campaign sum that the Tursky alliance spent, as reported by the "Tiroler Tageszeitung". An incredible 1.1 million euros. This was 60 percent (!) more than the originally planned budget of 690,000 euros. Converted, 181 euros were spent per vote. A figure that is impressive and extraordinary compared to the other parties and their financial "expenditure" per vote.

Johannes Anzengruber (right) became mayor, Florian Tursky disappeared to Vienna.

(Bild: APA/Hans Punz/Robert Parigger/Christof Birbaumer/Krone Kreativ)

Other parties' expenditure a well-kept secret
Of course, the election campaign expenditure of the other parties is a well-kept secret, but not nearly as high as that of the Tursky alliance. However, the costs are covered, according to the Innsbruck ÖVP. They are not in any financial difficulties. Good to hear. So at least in this respect there is no need to worry about the Innsbruck People's Party.

This probably also applies to the party's current lack of leadership. Because it is completely unclear who is actually in charge of the "Tursky Alliance". Tursky himself is almost certainly not. Unless he knows how to lead a party from Vienna, because that is where he is supposed to be mainly based, and he is rarely in Innsbruck.

Criticism from within his own ranks
On the official homepage of the Tyrolean People's Party, he is still listed as city party chairman. But not only insiders are asking themselves: "How can this work?" There is also repeated criticism - interestingly from within the party's own black ranks - of the fact that Tursky announced in all sincerity that he saw his political future in Innsbruck, but after the election defeat he virtually "took off" in the direction of Vienna, where he now sees his future again. Tursky had deceived the voters and left behind "a mess".

He should at least hand over the city party properly as soon as possible, so that the rest of the party is "more capable of acting" again.