For the mayor's son

Another resignation in an Außerfern municipal council

The Green opposition politician Regina Karlen is turning her back on politics - not without resentment!

(Bild: Daum Hubert)

The next political turmoil at municipal level in the Tyrolean Außerfern: After the scandal in the eleven-member Biberwier municipal council - all five members of the opposition resigned unanimously, keyword: Fernpass package - now municipal council member Regina Karlen in Breitenwang also says: "Enough is enough!" The allocation of a council apartment to the mayor's son is unacceptable to her.

"If this is possible in Tyrol, I don't want to continue," is how a deeply disappointed Regina Karlen, opposition Green Party municipal councillor in Breitenwang near Reutte, describes her state of mind to the "Krone" newspaper. By "that" she means an official act by Mayor Hanspeter Wagner (absolute majority in the local parliament).

"Should have established bias"
Just over a year ago, he ensured that his son and family were able to move into a council apartment that had been renovated for 80,000 euros. The reprehensible thing for the elected representative was that this was the first time that an apartment had been allocated without a municipal council decision and that the rental costs were significantly below the "usual" level.

She also found it scandalous that she found out afterwards that a single mother with three children was urgently looking for a roof over her head: "A mayor can only go it alone in an emergency situation. Otherwise, he should have established his bias."

A mayor can only go it alone in an emergency situation. Moreover, he should have established his bias.

Gemeindevorständin Regina Karlen 

Public prosecutor and municipal supervisory authority saw no offense
Karlen contacted the public prosecutor's office in April and asked for a legal review. The latter soon let it be known that no investigation proceedings would be initiated. The Green Party mandate holder then thought aloud about withdrawing in frustration, but wanted to wait for the reaction of the municipal supervisory authority, which was also involved. This has since arrived, arguing, among other things, with a "10 percent clause" and also sees no wrongdoing on Wagner's part. The local politician, on the other hand, sees no point in "continuing to work in a system in which something like this is legally possible."

Karlen therefore chose the municipal council meeting on Thursday as the setting to draw her own personal line in front of some stunned colleagues.

"All of you from the mayor's group are silent on this"
The remarkable speech can certainly be seen as a reckoning. The outgoing mayor despaired of the legal system, "which allows a mayor without an emergency situation to provide his own son with a council apartment and a single parent in a really precarious situation is denied help." She had to admit that the mayor had not made a mistake from a legal perspective. "But is what fits through some legal loophole also morally okay?" she asks, "and all of you from the mayoral faction are silent about it."

No statement from the mayor
Village mayor Wagner has also remained silent, namely towards the "Krone". He could not be reached for comment and requests for a callback were ignored. Regina Karlen, on the other hand, has at least managed to ensure that there will be clear criteria for the allocation of council apartments in Breitenwang in the future. But not until she is gone, she was told.