At the LH conference in Upper Austria

Provincial leaders laugh at Nehammer, Trump and co.

Before the start of the serious discussion, in which orders were formulated for the negotiators of the Zuckerl coalition, there was loud laughter: at the center was the Mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig, who showed a funny video. Peter Kaiser, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, Thomas Stelzer and Wilfried Haslauer enjoyed themselves.

(Bild: Loy Robert/Robert Loy)

The meeting of the provincial governors at Lake Traunsee in Upper Austria began on Wednesday with laughter: to lighten the mood before the governors' conference, Vienna's Mayor Ludwig pulled out his iPhone. On it you can see: A satirical clip in which Chancellor Nehammer, Lower Austrian head of state Mikl-Leitner and US President Trump are made fun of. 

The clip has since been shared thousands of times on the internet: The satirical video published by the "Tagespresse" (see below) shows a Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer speaking through artificial intelligence as he talks to US President Donald Trump on the phone. The fictitious Nehammer congratulates Donald Trump on his election as future US President. He is now the second most powerful politician in the world - after Johanna Mikl Leitner (ÖVP), the governor of Lower Austria, according to the fictitious Nehammer. 

The publication of the satirical portal is causing a laugh - also among the powerful heads of the provinces, who met on Wednesday in Traunkirchen in Upper Austria at the invitation of Governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP). Shortly before the politicians and their officials retired to the ballroom of the noble Waldcampus, the mayor of Vienna - formally he is also a provincial governor - pulled out his cell phone and played the satirical clip.

The host Stelzer and Carinthia's head of state Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) had to laugh out loud, and Ludwig himself also had great fun when he showed the video. But that wasn't all: when Johanna Mikl-Leitner, the head of Lower Austria, Salzburg's Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP) and Tyrol's Anton Mattle (ÖVP), who had been made fun of by the satirists, arrived at the venue, Ludwig reached into his pocket again and showed the video once more. Again: lots of laughs. Politics can also be funny, a bit of light-heartedness is probably appropriate in these serious times.

State leaders formulate demands for the coalition negotiators
However, the meeting of the regional heads is accompanied by serious topics. KTM announced its insolvency the day before. And there is also one piece of terrible news after another from the business world. 

The meeting of the provincial governors in Traunkirchen: Anton Mattle (Tyrol), Peter Kaiser (Carinthia), Markus Wallner (Vorarlberg), host Thomas Stelzer (Upper Austria), Johanna Mikl-Leitner (Lower Austria), Wilfried Haslauer (Salzburg) and Michael Ludwig (Vienna).

(Bild: Loy Robert/Robert Loy)

The provincial governors are expected to present a package of demands to the new federal government. It was already clear in advance that the issue of electricity costs would be a hot topic. Carinthia, Burgenland and Lower Austria are in favor of uniform nationwide electricity grid tariffs, which the west of Austria, especially Vorarlberg, rejects.

The seating arrangements dictated that the Styrian election loser Christopher Drexler would sit next to Salzburg's Wilfried Haslauer. However, the provincial leader's seat remained empty.

(Bild: Loy Robert/Robert Loy)

Hans-Peter Doskozil from Burgenland was also excused. His seat in the large hall of the Waldcampus in Traunkirchen also remained empty.

(Bild: Loy Robert/Robert Loy)

Stelzer also saw a need for discussion in advance after the significantly worse forecast for revenue shares for 2025 was only passed on to the federal states at the end of the budget preparation process: "Communication between the federal government and the federal states must be improved."

Two prominent seats remained empty at the conference
Incidentally, the meeting in Traunkirchen is not complete: Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ), head of the Burgenland provincial government, and Christopher Drexler (ÖVP) from Styria have sent their apologies. The SPÖ politician is still suffering from the effects of pneumonia, while his colleague from Styria lost the state election on Sunday. The first talks with the election winner Mario Kunasek (FPÖ) are to take place in Graz today.