Officially still in office

Hardly any sympathy after wild drunken drive by local chief

The resignation is not yet official, but in Baumgartenberg the course has been set for a new election.(Bild: Horst Einöder/Flashpictures, Krone KREATIV)

He got behind the wheel drunk, fled from the police and crashed into a tree. That was the spectacular end to the political career of the mayor of Baumgartenberg, Gerald Fornwagner (ÖVP), on Thursday night. On Saturday, the incident was the number one topic of conversation in the Mühlviertel community, as a local inspection by the "Krone" shows.

"That was a stupid story", "I have no sympathy for him" - these or similar were the reactions of the local residents who had elected Fornwagner in 2021 with almost 70 percent of the vote. There were also 600 posts about the story in the forum on krone.at - and here, too, readers showed little sympathy.