No successor yet

Karl Mahrer on trial: disaster for ÖVP Vienna

Christine and Karl Mahrer love to dance on the dance floor. Now they end up in the dock together.

(Bild: Tuma Alexander/Starpix/ Alexander TUMA)

Heavily counted out: Shortly before the Vienna elections, the black top candidate and party chairman Karl Mahrer is putting the People's Party under pressure.

Vienna's ÖVP leader Karl Mahrer was the first top official in his party to rant loudly against Herbert Kickl ("security risk") after the collapse of the blue-black coalition in the federal government. Now the 69-year-old is being charged with embezzlement - together with his wife and just two and a half months before the Vienna elections in April. The ÖVP Vienna sees "no need" for personnel consequences. Mahrer himself has also ruled out resigning. Nevertheless, the party leader is severely counted out. A top candidate with an accusation in an election campaign - a nightmare for any PR strategist.

Karl Mahrer took over the Vienna People's Party in December 2021. After the retirement of former Finance Minister Gernot Blümel.

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH / APA / picturedesk.com)

Will Mahrer stay or fall? 
In Lichtenfelsgasse, the headquarters of the City Blacks, they immediately came to his defense. In an internal memo to the provincial party executive and party staff, it says: "We stand united behind Karl Mahrer and will not be distracted from our work for Vienna by questionable judicial actions." But how much can the ex-policeman rely on this promise? A statement like that should set alarm bells ringing.

Bernhard Görg headed the Vienna People's Party from 1992 to 2002. From 1996 to 2001, he was also Deputy Mayor of the City of Vienna.

(Bild: Holl Reinhard/Reinhard Holl)

The "Krone" asked Bernhard Görg, the former deputy mayor and ex-ÖVP leader, about this. The lawyer was at the head of the City of Blacks for ten years. "It makes a difference whether a party leader is doing badly in the polls, but this is about a trial. This statement should therefore be taken very seriously," says Görg. Mahrer's party colleague indirectly criticizes the WKStA: "These proceedings have become very inflationary in recent months and years." Would Görg have resigned in the event of an indictment? "No, only in the event of a conviction."

What my party has done in the last few weeks is outrageous. But that has nothing to do with the Karl Mahrer case.

Bernhard Görg, Ex-ÖVP-Wien Chef

Finally, the well-known critic settles the score with the ÖVP and the political culture. "Extremely appalling. What my party has done in the last few weeks is outrageous. But that has nothing to do with the Karl Mahrer case," says Görg. Next week will be exciting. Next Friday (February 21), the line-up of candidates will be finalized. The scramble for the coveted seats on the municipal council is likely to be very tight, as the ÖVP is predicted to suffer heavy losses in the election. Fewer votes means fewer seats or posts. The presentation of the turquoise squad is planned for the following Monday, February 24. There is certainly plenty to talk about. That much is certain.

No successor dares to come out of hiding yet
In the last Vienna elections in 2020, the People's Party came second with 20.4 percent. The appeal of former Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz also rubbed off on the Viennese party. The ÖVP won 22 seats. According to the latest polls, this time it will only be 12 percent. And the polls were conducted before Mahrer's court case became known. Nevertheless, no successor has yet dared to come out of hiding. That will probably remain the case until the election.