ÖVP Lower Austria:

“Mayors are not lightning rods for frustration”

(Bild: krone.tv )

Shortly before the Lower Austrian local council elections on Sunday, Matthias Zauner, regional director of the ÖVP Lower Austria, analyzes the course of the election campaign, where there were also numerous hostilities and threats towards the end: "Now the election campaign has been objective and fair on the whole. But there have been incidents here and there that must give us pause for thought."

Zauner is very specific: "For example, when mayors are attacked and their cars defaced. Or when posters of campaigning parties are destroyed and smeared. That's a development that worries me." What was the background to such aggressive actions against politicians? Zauner: "I invite all citizens not to use mayors as a lightning rod for personal frustration."

Whether those in power are currently being punished by voters? Zauner: "On Sunday, we are voting in 568 municipalities. Each of these municipalities is different. There are municipalities where we (note: this refers to the ÖVP) provide the mayor. And there are municipalities where the Social Democrats or a citizens' list provide the mayor.

From tailwind to headwind
Is it likely that the FPÖ will now also be elected mayor in the upcoming elections? Zauner: "The municipal elections in 2025 are actually very difficult to compare with the municipal elections in 2020 because the framework conditions have changed. Of course, the federal political situation was completely different five years ago.

Five years ago we had a tailwind, now we have a headwind." And in general, the ÖVP regional managing director also believes that there are currently major social changes in Austria. Zauner: "For example, the increasing anonymization even in smaller communities. In the last five years, we have experienced a change that does not stop at social coexistence in the municipalities."  

This alone shows that the conditions are different. Or the size of the municipalities: You can't compare a small municipality in the border region with a city of 50,000 inhabitants in the Vienna area. I would not subscribe to this general trend of governments being punished. It depends on the situation in the respective municipality. And we have that 568 times."

Watch the whole interview in the video above!