Election in Lungau

Unternberg turns blue: “I’m quite surprised myself”

Maria Fanninger will have to do without her husband Andreas more often: The FPÖ politician is the new mayor of Unternberg.(Bild: Holitzky Roland)

An FPÖ candidate takes office with a 13-vote lead. In St. Margarethen, a protest list breaks the ÖVP's omnipotence in Lungau.

Sensation in Unternberg: the mayor's seat passes from a black man to the blue Andreas Fanninger. "I'm still surprised myself that people trust me so much," he told the "Krone" newspaper. This makes him the only blue mayor in the state. Thanks to Fanninger, the deep black Lungau has a blue spot and thanks to Lessach a red one. Surprisingly, the SPÖ was able to almost triple its share of votes in the municipal council there, although it lost percentage points almost everywhere.

In St. Margarethen, the ÖVP's absolute majority is broken. Due to heavy losses, Mayor Johann Lüftenegger will have a difficult time in future. The same fate befell Wolfgang Pfeifenberger (ÖVP) in Tamsweg: in future, the mayor will have to contend with a stronger FPÖ in the municipal council. The black absolute was also lost in St. Andrä. A few kilometers away, Wilfried Holzer is delighted: his "List for Margarethen", which emerged from the protest against a hotel project, becomes the second strongest force and secures three seats. Holzer remains deputy mayor. The ÖVP is able to defend its influence almost everywhere in the district.