"Hate is becoming more and more extreme"
Politicians dismayed after attack on mayor
Hannes Koza (ÖVP), mayor of Vösendorf (Mödling district), was beaten up and threatened with being killed by an unknown person on Tuesday evening. Local politicians reacted with dismay. "We have been experiencing for years that the hatred stirred up by the left and right fringes is becoming more and more extreme", warned Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP), Governor of Lower Austria.
According to Mikl-Leitner, this hatred is also being openly fueled by professional cynics and self-appointed opinion makers in anti-social media.
"These people should look Hannes Koza in the face today and apologize to him. Our mayors deserve the same appreciation and respect as everyone else who is committed to our community," emphasized the Governor.
Anyone who constantly complains about politicians need not be surprised if at some point nobody wants to stand up for our democracy. Then we will be living in anarchy. And we will certainly not stand idly by and watch this development.
Niederösterreichs Landeshauptfrau Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP)
Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK
Johannes Pressl (ÖVP), President of the Association of Municipalities, also strongly condemned the attack on Koza: "Violence can and should never be the answer to political decisions. Above all, a democracy needs respect for the opinions of others!"
"A low point in political culture"
Matthias Zauner, regional director of the Lower Austrian People's Party, spoke of a "low point in political culture". The fact that a mayor was physically attacked "has no place in a democracy". Zauner also called on people to choose their words carefully after the attack.
Koza has already made headlines several times this year
Koza made the headlines several times at the beginning of the year. In May, he clearly won the early local elections in Vösendorf. The election was based on investigations against him; investigations into breach of trust, incitement to hatred and abuse of office were discontinued in March. There was a diversion in relation to the accusation of forgery. The head of the municipality is said to have been reimbursed by the municipality for costs incurred in the course of a legal dispute following a tweet and to have "corrected" a lawyer's invoice himself. The amount of 1,129.32 euros is said to have been reported as consultancy costs for the purchase of a new fire engine. Koza transferred the sum back.
Mayor shot dead in Upper Austria
While there has been an increase in attacks on politicians and campaign workers in Germany recently, such attacks are rare in Austria. However, the murder of a mayor in the Mühlviertel region caused horror at the end of October. The background to the double murder was a hunting dispute.
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