Linzplus candidate

“Caretaker” also wants to attract Finns to the ballot box

Lorenz Potocnik (Linz+) is not embarrassed when he removes garbage in Linz. He sees himself as a "janitor and visionary".

(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

"In many conversations on the street, I have seen that many 'EU-Linzers' don't even know that they can vote," says mayoral candidate Lorenz Potocnik, who is now informing the city's EU citizens on linzplus.at via video in 14 languages about the opportunity to vote on 12 January. 

Of the 24,892 EU citizens in Linz, around 20,000 are entitled to vote. "The city of Linz largely ignores these people. They are hardly informed or actively involved," criticizes Linzplus frontman and mayoral candidate Lorenz Potocnik and continues: "That's 17.5 percent of the vote - a huge potential that has been used far too little so far."

He is therefore now specifically addressing the EU communities - including 6412 Romanians, 3841 Germans, 4282 Croats, 2873 Hungarians, 1175 Slovaks and 998 Poles - by video in their own language to inform them about the upcoming election as the "janitor and visionary of Linz".

Video appeal in 14 languages
"Because in many conversations on the street, I have seen that many 'EU-Linzers' don't even know that they are allowed to vote," says Potocnik. With the help of an AI tool, he has translated his video appeal into 13 additional languages - from Polish and Portuguese to Slovakian, Danish - and even Finnish, which is spoken by at least 69 people registered in Linz. Potocnik: "We have the opportunity to strengthen political engagement and make Linz more European."