Change in the FPÖ

Dim instead of Mahr: Handover in the blue state parliament club

Herwig Mahr leaves as club leader, but will remain a member of parliament until 2027. His successor Thomas dim (left) takes over on April 1.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/FPÖ)

A 60-year-old succeeds a 65-year-old: As the "Krone" reported weeks ago in advance, FPÖ veteran Herwig Mahr is stepping aside at the head of the state parliamentary club and handing over to Thomas Dim. The Innviertel native is Deputy Mayor of Ried im Innkreis - a bastion of the Freedom Party.

The FPÖ Upper Austria state parliament club is getting a new chairman: Thomas Dim, Deputy Mayor of Ried im Innkreis and member of the state parliament, will officially take over from Herwig Mahr on April 1st. After almost ten years, the latter is handing over the chairmanship of the blue parliamentary group, but intends to remain a member of parliament until the 2027 elections despite being 65 years old.

New club leader elected unanimously
The 60-year-old Dim was unanimously elected as the new chairman at the club meeting on February 24. Deputy Governor Manfred Haimbuchner announced this on Wednesday together with the designated and outgoing chairmen "about the personnel decision that had been announced a few weeks ago" and about which the "Krone" had already reported in advance. Haimbuchner thanked Mahr for the many years of good cooperation and emphasized, among other things, his "tenacity".

"Dim is a guarantor of liberal ideas"
Mahr spoke of an "orderly and structured transition", saying that Dim was a "guarantor of liberal ideas". He was delighted with the vote of confidence in his party and the leadership of a "functioning club". He said that one of his priorities was to work with "Innviertler perseverance" to ensure that "families can live safely in our homeland, have work and develop here".