Financial situation improves

Hartberg draws a line under the “Caribbean curse”

Mayor Marcus Martschitsch (ÖVP) is confident ahead of the municipal elections.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Erwin Scheriau)

Stadium renovation and new city hotel: headlines like these are set to dominate Hartberg, rather than the financial woes and political turbulence of the past. Ahead of the local council elections on March 23, the tension in the East Styrian district capital is rising noticeably - despite positive news in the Caribbean case. 

The political climate: poisoned. The financial situation: bleak. The room for maneuver: small. When Marcus Martschitsch took over as mayor of Hartberg eight years ago, the East Styrian district town was in a very difficult situation.

In February 2025, Martschitsch is sitting quite relaxed in his office in the town hall. Not only has his ÖVP faced less headwind in the municipal council since regaining an absolute majority in 2020 and the mood is much calmer - the budget situation has also changed dramatically: "Our coffers are always in the black. I started with more than 13 million euros in debt, now it's two million euros."

Election 2020

• ÖVP: 54.9 percent (15 seats)
• SPÖ: 11.2 percent (3 seats)
• FPÖ: 5.9 percent (1 mandate)
• Greens: 13.7 percent (3 mandates)
• Hartberg Citizens' List: 14.4 percent (3 seats)

"We remain the district capital"
Hartberg's economic strength with leading companies such as Ringana, Prolactal and Durmont helped. "We are by far the number 1 in the district in terms of economic power," says Martschitsch. A reference to Fürstenfeld, which is even further ahead in terms of population thanks to the merger with Söchau. For the Hartberg town chief, however, one thing is clear: "We will remain the district capital for the next 100 years."

A merger with the surrounding municipalities of Greinbach, Hartberg Umgebung and St. Johann in der Haide is also a recurring theme in Hartberg. The topic is sensitive, Martschitsch is keeping his cool. SPÖ top candidate Herwig Matejka also sees little chance of a merger at present. Deputy Mayor Michael Horvath from the Hartberg Citizens' List is much more aggressive: It has the merger with the surrounding area as the first point of its "Vision 2030".

Deputy Mayor Michael Horvath from the Hartberg Citizens' List

(Bild: HBL )

Money from speculative losses has reappeared
But back to the financial situation: Hartberg once hit the headlines because four million euros from the sale of the savings bank were sunk with speculation in the Caribbean, falling for billionaire fraudster Bernie Madoff. The Green Party member Christoph Wallner, formerly a consumer protection activist, has been working on the issue for a long time - and has good news just before the election: Thanks to tenacious investigators from the USA, almost all of the money from the Madoff affair that was thought to be lost has been recovered - almost 94 percent to be precise! Hartberg will also get a significant portion back. 

However, the whereabouts of a further three million euros are still unclear. "If we Greens get the trust, we can continue to work on this case," he says, not giving up hope. 

Green top duo: Ingrid Nerath and Christoph Wallner

(Bild: Marusa Puhek)

New hotel to initiate upswing
However, other issues are currently dominating Hartberg politics. For example, the town centre, which is characterized by many vacancies. Now a new start is to be made. This is mainly due to a planned hotel by natural cosmetics company Ringana: in future, training courses for "freshness partners" from all over the world are to be held in Hartberg, thus ensuring basic occupancy of the hotel.

Martschitsch: "There are no plans for catering in the hotel; guests should use the surrounding restaurants." The vision is to also become a wedding location in combination with the castle at weekends. Incidentally, Ringana wanted to buy the castle a few years ago - some of the opposition, such as the Greens, mobilized against this. Wallner: "We continue to oppose the sale of the castle; it should be preserved as a cultural site."

A second promising project for the city center is the conversion of the so-called Mogg House behind the town hall. The library and an electrical retailer are moving here, and there will also be a passageway to the pedestrian zone. "Both projects should get the ball rolling," hopes Martschitsch.

"A lot promised, little delivered"
Some members of the opposition are much more critical of the city center development, such as Horvath: "A lot promised, little delivered," he says. But one thing is clear, as in many other cities: The big retail chains will no longer be brought back to the centers; the future lies with small, fine stores, services and events.

The renovation of Hartberg's Bundesliga stadium is on track for this summer. Nine million euros will flow from the province of Styria for this. The second southern highway connection on the municipal border with Buch-St. Magdalena is not yet on track. The hope is that this would reduce the avalanche of traffic in the town by up to 8,000 vehicles a day. So far, however, it has failed because of the Green Minister of Transport Leonore Gewessler.

ÖVP even wants to extend its absolute majority
Politically, the starting position is clear: the ÖVP, for which Lukas Schnitzer is once again running in the state parliament, wants to retain its absolute majority, and Martschitsch is even aiming for an additional mandate. The second strongest force so far has been the Citizens' List, which is running for the first time with Horvath as its lead candidate. He presents himself offensively, speaks of "long-delayed decisions" and a "dilapidated indoor swimming pool" and brings visions such as an outstanding education and sports campus and even a university of applied sciences into play.

The SPÖ under Herwig Matejka is hoping for slight gains: "There are enough things to do, such as road renovations, the renovation of the indoor swimming pool, the creation of crisis housing and more playgrounds," he lists a few things.

FPÖ man was a lone fighter
Luca-Andre Geistler from the FPÖ was a lone fighter for five years. This time, however, the member of the state parliament would like to gain at least three seats: "We have presented a ten-page work program." Road renovations are also a major issue for the Blue Party, which is also calling for an annual citizens' assembly in every cadastral municipality.

The Greens have 13 women among their 25 candidates. They address the increasing frequency of extreme weather events and want to raise awareness of the problem. Areas that are already sealed should be used twice, keyword: PV systems for large parking lots.