The next upheaval?

Langenwang: FPÖ challenge to ÖVP “absolute”

Mayor Rudolf Hofbauer (ÖVP) praises the "Langenwang climate".(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Jürgen Fuchs)

Langenwang in the Mürztal valley is one of the municipalities where the Styrian FPÖ is hoping to win the mayor's seat. It would be the second political "revolution": in the 1980s, the red municipality became a black one.

Until 1985, Langenwang was firmly in the hands of the SPÖ, with hundreds of residents commuting to work in the nationalized industry. "Back then, you couldn't get a job without an SPÖ party card," says ÖVP mayor Rudolf Hofbauer. Then came the great crisis of the nationalized companies. As a side effect, Langenwang went "black" at municipal level.

Hofbauer, who trained as a lathe operator himself, has now been mayor for 14 years. He is running again this year as the top candidate. "In 2020, we presented ten plans for ten years, eight of which have already been completed," he tells the "Krone" newspaper. These include the new town center and the crèche that opened last year. The topic of the environment (despite 33 wind turbines in the municipality) and the modernization of the town hall have not yet been completed.

Hofbauer speaks of the good "Langenwang climate". The municipality is experiencing an influx of new residents and is very family-friendly. The People's Party currently holds 14 seats (four for the FPÖ, three for the SPÖ). The aim is to maintain this level.

Philipp Könighofer (FPÖ) is entering the race as candidate for mayor.(Bild: Juergen Fuchs)

FPÖ MP with big ambitions
The FPÖ, on the other hand, wants to break the People's Party's absolute majority. Its leading candidate is Philipp Könighofer, currently Deputy Mayor and recently a member of the provincial parliament. State governor Mario Kunasek even gives him a chance of becoming the new mayor. 

What would he change? "Put housing allocation on a new footing, develop the Siglhof as a cultural center, create a place for young people, find a solution for the building yard," he lists a few points. Childcare in Langenwang is already at the limits of its capacity. Könighofer wants a "strategic development of Langenwang" and to define exactly where they want to be in five or ten years' time. Incidentally, his good friend Oliver Brunnhofer, who is the press spokesman for Social Affairs Councillor Hannes Amesbauer, takes second place on the list.

Last election for Rudolf Hofbauer
This will probably be Hofbauer's last election as top candidate; there is likely to be an "orderly handover" in the course of the next period. The current first deputy mayor Franz Reithofer will not be standing again this time, with Gabriele Schmid, Otto Wurzwallner and Josef Breuer among the possible successor candidates.