Ejection astonished

Even ÖVP veteran now defends Dornauer

ÖVP member of the National Council Franz Hörl is surprised about Dornauer's exclusion from the party.(Bild: Johanna Birbaumer)

Former Tyrolean SPÖ leader Georg Dornauer is a "colorful dog" in the political landscape. But now he has gone too far in the eyes of his party and is out. Franz Hörl, a member of the Tyrolean ÖVP National Council, jumps to the Social Democrat's defense and fires back against the Tyrolean SPÖ.

Georg Dornauer, now a member of the provincial parliament, recently spoke out in favor of paying out "excess profits" of the energy producer Tiwag to the population. He wanted to single-handedly submit an urgent motion to the provincial parliament, thus going against the party line and, above all, the coalition with the conservatives. The Tyrolean SPÖ reacted sharply and excluded Dornauer, which was probably not only met with astonishment by National Council member Franz Hörl.

"Benko hunt and gun in Porsche not enough"
 The ÖVP veteran told the "Krone" newspaper: "If a Social Democrat leaves a loaded gun in an unlocked Porsche, that's not enough to get him expelled from the party. If a Social Democrat goes hunting with René Benko, that's not enough to be expelled from the party. But if a social democrat makes a socialist demand in the provincial parliament, that is apparently enough for the Tyrolean SPÖ to expel him."

Hörl and Dornauer know and appreciate each other, despite their different political approaches. Both are passionate hunters and were mayors of their home communities. Hörl, however, has a more distant relationship with Dornauer's successor Philip Wohlgemuth.