KPÖ mayor?

Heinz Fischer: “I would feel uncomfortable”

Former Federal President Heinz Fischer acted as patron for SPÖ candidate Bernhard Auinger in the Salzburg "Schnürlregen".(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

"I would feel uncomfortable with a communist as mayor of Salzburg", declared former Federal President Heinz Fischer on Thursday at a joint election campaign meeting with SPÖ candidate Bernhard Auinger. "There is a better option," says Fischer.

The 85-year-old SPÖ grandee came to Salzburg as an election worker. In the last few days before the run-off election in the state capital, the aim is to mobilize all undecided voters. The SPÖ is relying on warnings against communism.

Fischer spoke out in favor of his red party colleague Auinger. He did not want to say a bad word about the opposing candidate Kay-Michael Dankl (KPÖ Plus), but pointed out that the question was how a communist mayor would affect the image of the city abroad.

Only 821 votes separated Auinger and Dankl
The chances of an election victory for Auinger are good, but in the first round of voting on March 10, the SPÖ deputy mayor (29.4 percent) and KPÖ-Plus municipal councillor Kay-Michael Dankl (28.0 percent) were separated by just 821 votes.

SPÖ federal party leader Andreas Babler has only announced his intention to attend the election party on Sunday.