Nicole Ender-Jöchl:

“We want to write history in the Montafon”

The 41-year-old woman from Vandans wants to become the first female mayor in the Montafon.(Bild: sos)

In the municipal elections on March 16, Nicole Ender-Jöchl would like to replace the incumbent mayor of Vandans, Florian Küng (FPÖ). If she succeeds, she would be the first female mayor in the valley. 

A woman wants to bring a breath of fresh air to the Vandans town hall in future. Nicole Ender-Jöchl is the name of the 41-year-old opposing candidate to the incumbent mayor Florian Küng. The special thing about her list: It is the only one in the whole of Vorarlberg on which only women are running. "But that wasn't the plan," emphasizes Nicole Ender-Jöchl. "We did ask a few men, but they all sent their wives first." However, the men of creation were certainly required to participate. After all, it takes the perspectives of both sides to make progress.

The idea of running for mayor was born when both the Vandans Green Party and the members of the "An frischa Loft" group were considering not running again. "For a long time, it looked as if there would only be one list. I thought to myself that an election without an election is not an election after all," explains Nicole Ender-Jöchl.

Nadine Kasper and Nicole Ender-Jöchl are on the hunt for votes.(Bild: sos)

After talking to friends and acquaintances, they decided to set up their own list. "Right off the bat, my colleagues and I came up with 40 potential candidates who could have been municipal representatives. But some didn't have the time, others were afraid that they would have professional disadvantages or would no longer receive permits from the municipality if they ran." The last points in particular show how entrenched the structures are and how much a breath of fresh air is needed in Vandans.

Old-fashioned gentlemen with little progressive views
The name of Nadine Kasper, former member of the state parliament for the Greens, is also on the non-party women's list. She is convinced that more women's power is needed in the municipal council in future. Although five women were elected to the 25-member body in 2020, only three are usually present at the meetings - meaning that women are significantly underrepresented. The old-fashioned gentlemen and their sometimes not very progressive views would dominate. "And when it comes to topics such as the lack of childcare places, there are always comments such as the question of why women have children at all if they don't have time to look after them," says Kasper.

If mayoral candidate Nicole Jöchl-Ender were to pull the strings, there should not only be a different understanding of the role of women. "I know what support mothers, senior citizens, tourism professionals and members of the soccer club need," says the top candidate. At the same time, she is also concerned about restructuring the municipal budget, as the people of Vandans have their backs to the wall financially. A lot of money has been spent on experts in recent years. "But we don't need the 50th feasibility study on the fire station, we need a new building," she cites as an example.

So far, the women have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the public. "It wasn't just my girlfriend, who almost flew off the ski lift with excitement, who was incredibly pleased that I'm running," reports Nicole Ender-Jöchl. The ladies are now entering the hot election campaign phase with a lot of tailwind and optimism. "Vandans could make history and become the first female mayor in the Montafon," says Nadine Kasper.

If Nicole Ender-Jöchl doesn't make it, the Montafon women still have a hot iron in the fire with Elisabeth Kuster (ÖVP) in St. Gallenkirch. If she wins against Lucas Bargehr (FPÖ), she could become the first woman in a Montafon municipal office.

Hintergrund

Bürgermeisterbonus und überzeugende Premiere 2020

The mayor of Vandans, Florian Küng, has a good chance of defending his office. Expectations among the FPÖ are high.

Vandans has been more or less firmly in blue hands for decades. Long-term mayor Burkhard Wachter governed from 1985 to 2020. His enthusiasm for former FPÖ federal party leader HC Strache was very limited even before his Ibiza affair. Among other things, Wachter described him as a "rabble-rouser" and "bully". As early as 2005, the Montafon native no longer stood for the FPÖ, but instead ran on a single list. In 2012, he drew the line and resigned from the party. Cartoons with a brown tinge on Strache's Facebook page finally broke the camel's back.

Burkhard Wachter held the office of mayor from 1985 to 2020.(Bild: Gemeinde Vorarlberg)

Shortly before the 2020 municipal elections, Wachter handed over the office of mayor to Florian Küng. Küng, who in turn is a member of the FPÖ Vorarlberg and came fifth in the most recent state election in the district of Bludenz, did well in his first municipal election. In the fall of 2020, he won 63.11% with the "Together for Vandans" list. Markus Pfefferkorn from "An frischa Loft - parteiunabhängige Liste Vandans" came second with 29.74%. The "Open List Vandans and the Greens" had to settle for just 7.15 percent.

Florian Küng was also clearly ahead in the direct mayoral election. 66.34 percent of Vandans residents voted for him as head of the village. Markus Pfefferkorn received 33.66%, the Greens did not put forward a candidate for mayor.

The FPÖ also believes that Florian Küng will be successful in this election. "60 to 70 percent should be realistic," says one functionary. His opponent in the race for mayor this time is Nicole Ender-Jöchl from the "Zukunft Vandans" list. The "An frische Loft" group is only running for seats on the municipal council.

Particularly amusing: while only women are running for "Zukunft Vandans", only men have been found for the "An frischa Loft" list.