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Association of Municipalities: Johannes Pressl is the new president

Johannes Pressl is the new President of the Austrian Association of Municipalities.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

It is now official: Johannes Pressl was elected President of the Austrian Association of Municipalities on Monday. The 53-year-old mayor of Ardagger received 94.4 percent of the votes cast by the eligible heads of local authorities.

Pressl, who has been mayor for 19 years and President of the Lower Austrian Association of Municipalities since 2021, succeeds Alfred Riedl, who resigned following allegations of land purchases in his home municipality of Grafenwörth. Following his election, Pressl named finances as one of the key points of his work program. "Almost every municipality has a loss of income and rising expenditure that can hardly be managed on its own," said the new president of the Association of Municipalities and called on the federal government to hold talks on an aid package for municipalities amounting to one billion euros.

"Saving land with common sense"
He wants to work together with the regional associations and municipalities as follows: "Involve, but don't interfere." As far as land consumption is concerned, Pressl said: "We want and need to save land, but with common sense." He envisages mobilizing vacant and unused land and densifying town centers. Consideration should also be given to higher financial incentives for the conversion of single-family homes and the addition of a second residential unit. 

Expansion of childcare as a further focal point
Other key topics for Pressl include the expansion of childcare, local healthcare and rural medical care, care and ageing in place, the energy transition and climate protection, digitalization in municipalities, networking with European partners and strengthening the mayor's office.