WK election

Wirtschaftsbund gained votes and mandates

Jubilation over the gains. Andreas Wirth and the Wirtschaftsbund are expanding their supremacy in the Chamber of Commerce.

(Bild: Reinhard Judt)

In the Chamber of Commerce elections, the ÖVP-Wirtschaftsbund has further extended its dominance with 75.22 percent. There were also gains for the Freiheitliche Wirtschaft. 

The ÖVP-affiliated Wirtschaftsbund further extended its dominance in the Chamber of Commerce elections. A total of 61 professional organizations were elected over two days, with 27,136 votes cast. Voter turnout was 30.3 percent, of which more than half were postal votes. With 75.22% (+5.05%), the Wirtschaftsbund came in a clear first place and won 591 seats. It was followed by the Social Democratic Business Association (SWV), which received 12.47% of the vote (-4.86%) and 82 seats. The Freiheitliche Wirtschaft gained 6.90 percent (+3.38 percent) and more than doubled its number of seats to 38. The Green Party lost ground, gaining 4.62% and 9 seats (-0.16%/-5 seats).

The UNOS (0.8 percent/2 seats) ran for the first time. The Industry list has 15 seats.

For President Andreas Wirth, who took over from Peter Nemeth a year and a half ago, it was his first election as head of the chamber. He was visibly proud when the election results were announced on Friday afternoon.

This result shows that we need a strong representation of interests and this is exactly what the Wirtschaftsbund offers.

WK-Präsident Andreas Wirth

His conclusion: "Hard work is rewarded." "This result shows that we need strong representation of our interests and this is exactly what the Wirtschaftsbund offers," said Wirth. The result is also a strong signal to the ÖVP family, the President could not resist alluding to the upcoming replacement of the ÖVP provincial party leadership. As the Wirtschaftsbund family, we naturally want to have an economic ally at the top, but that will be decided by other committees, said Wirth.

SWV and Greens lose
The Social Democratic Business Association (SWV) clearly missed its election target, admitted top candidate Gerald Schwentenwein. "We did not manage to mobilize. We will analyze the result." Schwentenwein added that the low voter turnout gave him pause for thought. Top candidate Petra Wagner sees the result of the Freiheitliche Wirtschaft as a vote of confidence and a clear mandate to be there and keep fighting. Green Economy top candidate Roland Siedl stated that they had "missed their targets by a wide margin."

UNOS want electoral law reform
First election, two mandates - the UNOS had "reason to celebrate", said Eduard Posch, who also spoke out in favour of electoral law reform and a reorganization of the chamber.