SPÖ loses in cities

Automatically saved draft

Styrian SPÖ leader Anton Lang is disappointed with the results in the cities of Upper Styria, but is nevertheless confident for the regional elections in the fall. What do the red mayors say about the EU election results? We asked around. 

SPÖ leader Anton Lang was "not happy" about the election result, as he told Krone: he had expected gains, especially in the large Upper Styrian cities: "We have to look at why that didn't happen." "Thumbs up" for the performance of his Red Party in the state capital: "The result in Graz gives me confidence for the state elections." Is Andreas Babler focusing on the right issues? "Yes", says Lang, but the issues were less decisive, the overall trend was for parties to the right of center.

"No answers to people's problems"
Harald Bergmann, Mayor of Knittelfeld (where the Reds lost 6.7%), doubts that the SPÖ is currently focusing on the right issues: "It is clear that the SPÖ is not providing any answers to people's problems at the moment, for example with regard to migration. "It will not be possible to maintain the welfare state with uncontrolled immigration", said the red city leader clearly.

Leoben's mayor Kurt Wallner(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

"Potential for dissatisfaction"
Kurt Wallner, Mayor of Leoben (where there was a drop of 2.7%), identifies a "potential for dissatisfaction" - key words being energy costs and inflation. As the SPÖ is pro-European, it was not perceived as a protest party - in contrast to the FPÖ.

"The signs are different again in the regional elections, where we have closer contact with the people."

FPÖ makes a clean sweep in Liezen
Andrea Heinrich, Mayor of Liezen, would have liked her party to have done better (minus 1.5% for the SPÖ): "The FPÖ is far ahead here. I see this as a wake-up call for us to pick up the citizens even more where they need it".