Questions and answers

Tyrolean entrepreneurs are now electing their representatives

Voting takes place on Wednesday and Thursday.

(Bild: Schwaiger Manuel)

Membership of the Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce is compulsory for businesses. Going to the ballot box every five years is voluntary. Who will be standing on March 12 and 13 and how did the last election go? We provide the answers.

Tyrol's entrepreneurs are called to the polls this week on Wednesday and Thursday for the Chamber of Commerce elections. It has been possible to vote by post for some time now.

The choice of lists is greater than ever before. The "Tiroler Krone" provides the most important questions and answers:

• What is elected?
  The entrepreneurs elect their representatives in the specialist groups of which they are members. It is not individuals who are elected, but groups of candidates. There are currently a total of six electoral groups in the Economic Parliament. Voters can enter the name of a candidate on the ballot paper and give them a preferential vote. This election is called a "primary election". The members of the professional association committees, divisional conferences, the Executive Committee, Extended Executive Committee and Economic Parliament are determined by indirect elections according to the result of the primary election.
• Who can vote?
  All members of specialist groups or specialist representations. Each member has one voting right per membership in a specialist group. Individual entrepreneurs vote in person. There is no right to vote if a company's membership is reported as dormant as of November 25, 2024.
• Why should you vote?
  The Chamber of Commerce represents the interests of companies vis-à-vis the provincial and federal governments and the social partners. The more entrepreneurs go to the polls and back it, the stronger its position.

On March 12 and 13, Tyrolean entrepreneurs can vote again. Last time, the turnout was just under 40 percent.

(Bild: Schwaiger Manuel)

• Where will voting take place?
  On both election days, all polling stations - there are 97 in total - will be open from 7.30 am to 7 pm. Although voters are assigned to a polling station, votes can be cast at any polling station in Tyrol.
• When can the election results be expected?
  Preliminary results will be available as early as Friday, March 14. This is expected to be officially announced at a press conference in the afternoon.
• How often do these elections actually take place?
  Officials are elected every five years in the Chamber of Commerce.
• How did the 2020 elections turn out?
  46,761 entrepreneurs were eligible to vote, who had 62,418 voting rights. The voter turnout was 39.51 percent. In comparison: 34.95% went to the polls in 2015. The ÖVP-Wirtschaftsbund came first with 79.81%, while second place went to the Grüne Wirtschaft, which received 7.45%. Third place went to the Freiheitliche Wirtschaft with 6.59 percent of the vote.
• How many companies are voting this year?
  As the "Krone" reported some time ago, there were exactly 52,161 active companies at the end of 2024. However, the number of chamber members is 59,690. There are even more in the divisions, which have a total of 63,245 active members. The three strongest sectors are trade and crafts (38.2 percent), commerce (21.6 percent) and tourism with a 16.8 percent share.

(Bild: Schwaiger Manuel)

Qual der Wahl

So viele Listen wie nie zuvor

The following electoral groups are still represented in the Economic Parliament of the Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce: Wirtschaftsbund Tirol, Grüne Wirtschaft, Freiheitliche Wirtschaft, Fachliste der Tiroler Industrie, Tiroler Wirtschaft im Bereich der Banken und Versicherungen and UNOS.

The strongest force is the Wirtschaftsbund with WK President Barbara Thaler. Under her predecessor Christoph Walser, it achieved 79.81 percent. The Wirtschaftsbund is also the only list running in all 71 specialist groups. Around 80 percent of the functions are firmly in the hands of the ÖVP. Meanwhile, the FPÖ-affiliated Freiheitliche Wirtschaft is on the ballot paper in 56 specialist groups. The Green Economy also wants to steal a few percent from the Wirtschaftsbund.

Liste Fritz wants to know for the first time
It will be exciting to see how the Fritz list - known from the Tyrolean state parliament - will fare. This year, for the first time in the party's history, it is running under the name "Liste Fritz. For a colorful economy" in ten specialist groups. "Instead of standing on the sidelines and moaning, we want to take responsibility," they say. UNOS, an offshoot of the pink Neos, is running in this country with 61 candidates in 21 specialist groups.

A total of 14 lists are up for election on Wednesday and Thursday - more than ever before. In addition to those already mentioned, there are

• SWV - Wirtschaftsverband Tirol
• WIAR - Economic and Labor Promotion Association
• Strong hands - strong voice
• Team Energetiker Tirol
• Tyrolean market, road and hiking trade
• M³ - Mobile. Modern. Human.
• List Hasan Duran

It would go beyond the scope of this article to present the positions of the individual lists. They are all unanimously concerned with "stopping the omnipotence of the Wirtschaftsbund". Whatever the outcome of the election: These are dark times for the economy following the coronavirus pandemic, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the trade war now being waged by US President Donald Trump.