Successor is reluctant

FPÖ veteran has to do an extra round

City party chairman Rudi Federspiel and StR Markus Lassenberger(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

City party chairman Rudi Federspiel wanted to hand over his office at a city party conference in June, but his successor has been reluctant. Now he has to hang on for another three years. 

With seven seats, the Innsbruck Blue Party is the strongest opposition force in Innsbruck's municipal council. But there is little sign of this strength. Markus Lassenberger was supposed to succeed party veteran Rudi Federspiel as city party chairman at the city party conference in June. This will now come to nothing.

Lassenberger can mobilize the base
Lassenberger, it is rumored, has no desire for a third job. In his civilian job he is a police officer, in his political life he is a city councillor, albeit without holding office. Lassenberger would be popular with his Innsbruck supporters: he had the best preference vote result in the NR election.

Lost momentum since the election collapse
The fact that Hannes Anzengruber is sitting in the mayor's seat is largely thanks to the blue voters, who mobilized Lassenberger to prevent Georg Willi from serving another term. Lassenberger's home power would therefore be there, but he doesn't know what to do with it.

Ex-Gerecht-GR Depaoli could dock on
It is obvious that Federspiel is not happy with the overall situation. At the age of 76, he has to add another three years as city party chairman. Club leader Andrea Dengg obviously has no particular ambitions to succeed her political mentor Federspiel.

Fabian Walch, whose rhetoric has already turned parts of the local council against him, has been angry with his party since his failed entry into the National Council. As a native of Außerfern, it is unlikely that he could take over the Innsbruck city party.

That leaves the newcomers Reini Happ, Achim Linde and Maria Magdalena Trinkl, but they are politically inexperienced. But perhaps someone new will join them: The name Gerald Depaoli keeps coming up here.