Scandal in the election campaign

Mayor’s “head” ended up in the cemetery

The head in the poster was cut out and later found at the cemetery.(Bild: SPÖ Herzogenburg)

A poster destroyed, the mayor's car covered in paint: vandals are now overshadowing the election campaign in Herzogenburg in the district of St. Pölten. The opposition is also furious.

The election campaign in Herzogenburg in the district of St. Pölten showed its ugly side at the end of the previous week. The SPÖ mayor Christoph Artner (38), who won back an absolute majority in 2020, was targeted by unknown vandals. During the night, the 38-year-old's private car was covered in black paint in the cadastral municipality of St. Andrä. A short time later, the politician's likeness was found in the cemetery. The "mayor's head" had previously been cut out of an election poster erected nearby.

The mayor's private car was covered in paint.(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

Stay tough but fair
"Political election disputes can be tough, but they must always remain fair. Such a cowardly action must be condemned," said Artner and his comrades, who filed a complaint and at the same time called for witnesses. Herbert Pfeffer, party colleague and mayor of the neighboring town of Traismauer, is also appalled: "Such cases of vandalism are far removed from a stupid prank! I hope that these two incidents were just outliers in the run-up to the municipal elections."

The mayor's cut-out head was "seized".(Bild: SPÖ Herzogenburg)

Opposition criticizes incidents
The other parties also reacted with shock to the incidents in the pen city. "When boundaries are crossed, the color of the party should no longer play a role," said the People's Party. The FPÖ, whose posters have already been destroyed, also strongly condemned the actions, but could not resist a side-swipe: "Such attacks happen to us during every election campaign. But there is never an outcry from the SPÖ if it doesn't affect them."