Power games in Carinthia

Agony of choice: How the law protects mayors

Can the mayor be disempowered at all in Klagenfurt?(Bild: Uta Rojsek-Wiedergut)

There is speculation about new elections in Klagenfurt because the SPÖ deputy mayor wants to force the recently non-party mayor out of office prematurely. But is that even possible? The special municipal law of the Lindwurm city reveals some astonishing facts that have apparently been overlooked in the political dispute so far.

In Klagenfurt, the spectre of a re-election is haunting the city because the previously somewhat colorless SPÖ deputy mayor Ronald Rabitsch is suddenly seeing red and questioning Mayor Christian Scheider's competence: "He is incapable of being number one," claims Rabitsch. Is that theoretically enough to replace a city leader?