Styrian ÖVP new

Christopher Drexler is about to retire

Christopher Drexler hands over to Manulea Khom and becomes Second President of Parliament.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian)

Revolt in the Styrian ÖVP: party leader Christopher Drexler resigns, he was vehemently urged to do so because his supporters were in the minority. Karlheinz Kornhäusl initially held the best cards as the successor candidate - but the business association staged a coup and has now installed Manuela Khom (previously president of the provincial parliament) as the new number one. She is taking over the party leadership and the deputy governor, at least for a transitional period.

Christopher Drexler (53) was removed two days before the end of his term of office as governor of Styria: Even before the presidium of the Styrian People's Party and the executive committee met, Drexler was "history". It had already become clear in the morning that the party leader, who had taken over this role from Hermann Schützenhöfer in the early summer of 2022, no longer had a majority.

As the "Steirerkrone" learned from several well-informed sources, Drexler was advised to resign following the election defeat in the regional elections. The district party leaders opposed the idea of "business as usual" and withdrew their confidence in Drexler.

Christopher Drexler hands over to Manulea Khom and becomes Second State Parliament President.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian)

The most important facts at a glance:

• No stone has been left unturned in the Styrian ÖVP. Monday was characterized by intense speculation about personnel.

• It was not least about the top job: Christopher Drexler , still governor of Styria, was blown away by the party's internal headwind.

• A new name was quickly brought into play as his successor: Manuela Khom, President of the Provincial Parliament - in the evening it was confirmed what the "Krone" had first reported: Khom will be the new ÖVP leader and Deputy Governor.
• There was also the question of who would take over the four black posts in the state government. Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, State Councillor for Economic Affairs, and Simone Schmiedtbauer, Head of the Agriculture Department, are considered fixed candidates - Karlheinz Kornhäusl will also continue to be a member of the government.

WKO boss Josef Herk spoke out against Drexler and in favor of Khom.

(Bild: Ripix/Richard Großschädl)

Wirtschaftsbund putsched Drexler away
Drexler faced strong winds, especially from the business and farmers' association. The "Krone" was told of shouting matches between the top functionaries. On the plus side, however, Drexler has the fact that the ÖVP and not the SPÖ, which was also courting the favor of the election-winning FPÖ party, was invited to coalition negotiations. He also managed to save the ÖVP four government seats.

However, the coalition program bears a very blue signature, and the FPÖ has also clearly prevailed in the distribution of ministries. For the ÖVP, only the unpopular health department remains, in which the Stainach-Pürgg lead hospital project, which the ÖVP has been pushing for so long, must be completed.

However, according to voices from the committees, Amon's friend Drexler himself is still fighting vehemently for the position of Second Provincial President, which was supposedly already intended for Werner Amon, who is still a provincial councillor.

The Wirtschaftsbund "installed" President Khom.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian/Christian Jauschowetz)

The driving force behind the "coup" is said to be Chamber of Commerce boss Josef Herk. The committees met for hours, "things got heated", report functionaries. Because there was resistance to Khom, the ÖVP was even threatened with a split. In order to prevent this worst-case scenario, a personnel decision was finally made: the previous president of the state parliament would take over the party leadership and the deputy governor for a transitional period.

"FPÖ veto" against Khom
Prior to this decision, those close to the future governor Mario Kunasek (FPÖ) said that they were very irritated by what was happening in the ÖVP. And on the other hand, that they could only imagine someone as party leader and deputy governor with whom they had also sat at the negotiating table.

In plain language, this means that Manuela Khom does not meet with the approval of the Freedom Party. Which, of course, doesn't help. The ÖVP immediately stated that it would decide on personnel issues itself.