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SPÖ veteran wants to become Red Cross President

Long-serving SPÖ provincial politician Siegfried Schrittwieser dropped a small bombshell on Wednesday: He wants to enthrone the incumbent Red Cross president.

(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

A Styrian political veteran wants to bring a breath of fresh air to the country's largest aid organization: Former deputy governor Siegfried Schrittwieser is standing for election as the new Styrian Red Cross president with a prominent "reform group".

It is a sensational novelty, at least in the recent history of the Styrian Red Cross regional association: for the first time, a second list has been formed for the election of the new presidium. Siegfried Schrittwieser, long-serving SPÖ provincial politician and most recently second deputy provincial governor until 2015, officially announced on Wednesday what the "Krone" had already reported at the beginning of March: He wants to provide the new leadership of the Red Cross with the "Siegi Schrittwieser Reform Group" list and replace the incumbent president Werner Weinhofer.

Red Cross veterans miss appreciation
Schrittwieser, from Upper Styria, has been working for the Red Cross for four decades, 33 years as head of the local branch and currently in his eighth year as head of the Bruck-Mürzzuschlag district branch. "In recent years, I have observed that transparency, trust and appreciation do not exist in the way we would like them to," says the Upper Styrian, explaining the origins of the "reform group" he initiated.

It is clear from Schrittwieser's comments that district office managers currently feel that they are not sufficiently involved and patronized by the provincial management level. "We want to involve all managers more closely in decisions made by the national executive committee and put an end to the secrecy." Schrittwieser's program focuses on appreciation and transparency for all employees.

"We want to involve district office managers more closely in decisions made by the national executive committee and put an end to secrecy."

Siegfried Schrittwieser

Putting more pressure on politicians
"Appreciation leads to satisfaction and this was clearly no longer the case at the last election in 2019," says Otto Marl, district office manager in Liezen and longstanding SPÖ mayor in Bad Aussee, explaining why the "reform group" was formed. At the time, President Werner Weinhofer received 59 percent of the votes as the incumbent President with the only list that ran.

"However, we don't want to be against anyone or anything, but for renewal," emphasizes Schrittwieser, who wants to be much more involved at a political level in particular. Here, the 71-year-old would certainly benefit from his political past, he knows the players and knows how to conduct negotiations.

Siegfried Schrittwieser (center) and part of his "reform group": (from left) Michael Gruber (District Office Manager Fürstenfeld), Berthold Petutschnigg (emergency doctor), Otto Marl (former mayor of Bad Aussee and District Office Manager Liezen), Christian Rath (District Office Manager Feldbach), Roland Antal (District Office Manager Leibnitz) and Gerhard Reithofer (Deputy District Office Manager Bruck/Mur)

(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

Schrittwieser cites the large chunk of funding as an example: "It is unacceptable that we have to cross-finance rescue trips with donations. We have to ensure cost-covering tariffs!" Among other things, this also includes increasing the municipalities' "rescue fee". This contribution from the municipalities has not been increased since 2016. Speaking of money: the long-standing demand for better pay for full-time employees is also included in the Siegi Schrittwieser list.

The sword of Damocles of centralization
Great attention will also be paid to maintaining regionality. "The sword of Damocles of centralization hangs over us. We firmly reject that. The Red Cross was deliberately designed to be very decentralized," says Schrittwieser. Emotional ties between volunteers are only formed locally.

The "reform group" behind Schrittwieser is made up of Red Cross "heavyweights" from all over the country. For example, Roland Antal (District Head of Leibnitz), Michael Gruber (District Head of Fürstenfeld), Otto Marl (former Mayor of Bad Aussee and District Head of Liezen) and Christian Rath (District Head of Feldbach) are standing for election as members of the Presidium. The renowned physician and emergency doctor Berthold Petuschnigg is to become chief physician. The list's association committee includes: Harald Bergmann (Mayor of Knittelfeld), Tatjana Prattes (Managing Director of Wiki Styria) and Christian Sulzbacher (former District Governor of Liezen).

Whether there will actually be a change of leadership at the top of the Styrian Red Cross will be revealed at the election of the new Executive Committee at the General Assembly on June 4. 170 delegates will cast their votes.