After the election

Local leaders: “We women are probably more open”

Sieglinde Islitzer-Lerch was the first woman in a leading position at the fire department in Hollersbach and is the new mayor.(Bild: EvaReifmueller)

Do they think they are up to the job? The female mayors of Salzburg once thought long and hard about this. It would not have been necessary, as it turns out: they win over the citizens with hard work and "feminine" qualities.

All eleven female mayors in Salzburg were confirmed in office last Sunday. Some even received a particularly high number of votes or won back majorities. What do they do differently to men? Some of them reveal this in an interview with "Krone".

Waltraud Brandstetter, Nußdorf am Haunsberg(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

"You have to listen to people's concerns and look at what they need," says Waltraud Grall, explaining the success of her work. The result of the mayoral election on March 10 proves her right. The sole candidate in Göriach received 97 percent of the vote. In the women's duel in Nußdorf, Waltraud Brandstetter came out on top with 80.5 percent. "Being a woman makes a difference, because you have different views," she says. That's why she expanded childcare in the summer of 2023.

Katharina Prommegger, Radstadt(Bild: Gerhard Schiel)

"Perhaps women are more open. People can talk to them better and, above all, about more topics," laughs Katharina Prommegger when asked whether being a woman is a reason for her success. The beauty salon operator regained the absolute black majority in the municipal council - even though she has only been in charge of Radstadt since 2023. The only local leader in Pongau praises the work of her "very good team", which her colleagues in her municipalities also do. She has children, a husband and a dog and describes her everyday life as follows: "The wife rocks everything. At home, I'm a wife, nurse and psychiatrist. It's similar in the community. The population is like my family, but much bigger."

I try to be with people all year round.

Barbara Huber, Bruck an der Glocknerstraße

Bild: Berger Susi

"I attach great importance to good communication"
Barbara Huber looks after her family of daughter, grandchildren and visually impaired mother all by herself. "Being with the people all year round and attaching great importance to good communication" is also her aspiration as mayor of Bruck an der Glocknerstraße. She was confirmed in the first round of voting. Group Commander Sieglinde Islitzer-Lerch had the same fate. She has been a member of the Hollersbach fire department for 25 years, runs three textile stores and is the next mayor of Hollersbach. "Perhaps women are more prudent than men. They also have a different perspective and that is urgently needed in politics."

Five female candidates will go into the run-off on March 24
She likes people and is keen to find solutions together, says Andrea Pabinger on her re-election as head of Lamprechtshausen. The people named here (all ÖVP) have other colleagues in Bürmoos, Anif, Straßwalchen, Viehhofen and Lend. Most of them thought long and hard about whether they wanted to become head of the village. Waltraud Brandstetter encourages women to take up positions in local politics. She tells them: "We women have a voice!"

Perhaps more villages will soon have a female mayor. Because in five out of a total of 14 municipalities, a woman is also running in the mayoral run-off election on March 24.