"Not a party member"

Lower Austria: Former ÖVP minister now running for NEOS

Former ÖVP Minister Andrea Kdolsky is running in her home municipality of Purkersdorf (St. Pölten district) in fifth place on the list.

(Bild: Reinhard Holl)

She is already part of the current pink negotiating team for a possible "Zuckerl" coalition, but now Andrea Kdolsky (62) is also returning to the election campaign stage. The former ÖVP minister is running for the NEOS in the Lower Austrian municipal elections on 26 January 2025. 

NEOS provincial party chairwoman Indra Collini presented the prominent newcomer at a press conference on Thursday. Kdolsky is running in her home municipality of Purkersdorf (St. Pölten district) in fifth place on the list.

Sharp tones towards the People's Party
In future, Kdolsky wants to deal with the expansion of local healthcare provision at municipal level and develop a concept. "The ÖVP is now on the right fringe. I made it clear with my resignationthat this is no longer my home," explained the doctor.

The ÖVP is now on the far right. I made it clear with my resignation that this is no longer my home.

Andrea Kdolsky

Return to federal politics ruled out
She was nominated by the Pinken party in the coalition negotiations for the topic of health and believes "that there will be a positive result". She is not a NEOS member, said Kdolsky, who ruled out a return to federal politics.

"27 hospitals are simply too many"
Regarding the current discussion about the closure of hospital sites in Lower Austria, the 62-year-old said: "It's not about closure, it's about transformation" in the direction of a "more modern structure". She cited primary care units and day clinics as examples. At those locations for which closure is recommended according to an expert paper, the case numbers required for quality would not be achieved. 27 hospitals are "simply too many", said the former head of the former NÖ Landeskliniken-Holding.

The NEOS want to run in 52 of 568 possible municipalities in the Lower Austrian municipal elections on 26 January 2025. In the 2020 elections, it was 37 out of 567. Around 300 candidates are entering the race in total, said Collini.

NEOS want to run in 52 municipalities
According to Collini, the aim is to make it onto the local council in all municipalities where the NEOS are running. Five more teams have been added to the 47 fixed after the provincial general assembly in November, said the provincial party leader before the deadline for submitting election proposals on Friday (12 noon).

Collini sees "huge growth" compared to 2020 in the number of municipalities in which the NEOS are running. When they first ran in 2015, the Pinken ran in 45 of a possible 570 municipalities. The NEOS are currently represented in a total of 34 municipal councils in the province.