Josef Lind has a lot of experience in local politics: he was ÖVP mayor of Kaibing until the merger in 2015, then also briefly in the new large municipality of Feistritztal - but he resigned in 2016 for health reasons and after internal disagreements. Four years later, he returned with his own list and immediately won an absolute majority of seats.

"I was never a party stallion, but a free spirit," says Lind to the Krone. "We don't need whisperers from above, but from below - from the population." He holds the office of mayor full-time, "it's a full-time job", which he would like to hold for another five years. 

Lind will go into the election on March 23 with his proven team. All eight councillors on his list are standing again. The mayor speaks of a track record of success, mentioning the low level of debt, the many state subsidies that were also available as a citizens' list ("that worked perfectly") and the subsidies for the population, such as for energy storage. In the coming years, the renovation and expansion of the kindergarten and flood protection in the Blaindorf district will be at the top of the list of priorities. 

ÖVP wants to make gains again
The first challenger is of course the ÖVP, which suffered a painful defeat in 2020. The new top candidate is municipal treasurer Hans Stramitzer. He wants to break the majority of the Lind list. "Childcare needs more financial support from the municipality, there needs to be fair investment in all districts, the expansion of fiber optics is only progressing slowly," says Stramitzer to the "Krone". The SPÖ and FPÖ are also standing for election in Feistritztal. 

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