Elections on Sunday

ÖVP has 199 mayoral offices to defend

ÖVP leader Manuela Khom(Bild: Erwin Scheriau)

On Sunday, the people of Styria will elect 284 new municipal councillors. Manuela Khom hopes that the ÖVP will remain the "mayoral party", but expects some losses.

Final spurt for the candidates for the municipal elections on Sunday: "All goals are possible until the last second," said ÖVP leader Manuela Khom on Monday. With 9313 candidates - including 2652 female candidates - Khom hopes that the People's Party will remain "the mayoral party - even if the result will be different this time because more parties are running. This will of course make the pieces of the cake smaller". The proportion of women among the candidates has risen by 50 people to 28.5 percent.

Great opportunities in industrial cities
The party is hoping for success in Bruck an der Mur and Leoben, where the SPÖ holds absolute majorities. "Until a few years ago, I thought it was wishful thinking that this could ever change," says Susanne Kaltenegger, Deputy Mayor of Bruck. Reinhard Lerchbammer from Leoben: "Many young people are emigrating. We want to prevent this, for example by building a new elementary school." Wundschuh's mayor Barbara Walch also sees "huge opportunities" in municipal politics.

The ÖVP currently has 199 of 285 local authority heads in Styria. In 284 municipalities, 805,173 people are entitled to vote on Sunday, and the ÖVP is running in 282 municipalities.