Municipal council election 2025

Village emperor or crisis manager?

Critics suspect "village emperors" in the executive chair in many a local council chamber. What is the reality in Lower Austria? The voters have the last word here too.

(Bild: P. Huber)

They lead and steer the municipalities: 568 mayors will be put to the political test in Lower Austria on January 26, 2025. There is already a lot of controversy.

Controversial reallocations, mysterious land deals and expensive prestige projects: Recently, there have also been critical media reports about mayors in Lower Austria. This raises the question: Do village emperors rule? Or are crisis managers at the head of the municipalities?

Political dispute over mayors
On January 26, new municipal council elections will be held in 568 municipalities. The elected representatives will then elect the mayor. And it is precisely over this office that a fierce political dispute has recently flared up. FPÖ municipal spokesperson Dieter Dorner is combative: "Although many mayors act like this, they are not village emperors, but rather representatives of the municipal council." There was also a lot of criticism for the "village emperor" slogan - it remains to be seen how the voters will assess this on 26 January.

Hellfried Mayer, spokesperson for the SPÖ association of municipal representatives, refers to the municipal code, which precisely defines powers and control.

"Mayors are packagers!"
In contrast to the FPÖ, the People's Party sees mayors as administrators and "crisis managers" in the village. The latter proved to be particularly impressive during the devastating floods in mid-September. ÖVP regional managing director Matthias Zauner: "Our committed mayors know it: loose talk along the lines of Kickl is not enough, the citizens expect implementers and tacklers in their communities!"

Who is more politically credible will only become clear in the municipal elections, in which 1.3 million people can cast their votes ...