Resignation in Tyrol

Application for Top Job Leads to ÖVP Provincial Councilor’s Downfall

Astrid Mair’s days as state councilor for public safety are numbered.(Bild: Johanna Birbaumer)

A bombshell in the Tyrolean provincial government: ÖVP Provincial Councilor for Security Astrid Mair announced her resignation on Friday. The pressure on the trained police officer—who is also the partner of the current Tyrolean police chief—apparently became too much after she had previously applied for a top job in the provincial police department. Interestingly, Governor Mattle stated that the position will not be filled.

“I informed Governor Anton Mattle today that I am seizing the opportunity to return to the Tyrolean Police as a lieutenant colonel and to refocus on my day job as a police officer. It was clear to me that I am a politician only for a limited time and will remain a police officer out of passion. That’s why this is the right move for me at the right time. I would like to express my gratitude for the trust placed in me, and I am convinced that the Tyrolean People’s Party, with Governor Anton Mattle at the helm, will continue its successful work,” Mair emphasized to the “Krone” late in the afternoon.

The former police officer had applied for the deputy director position at the Immigration Police, as Mair recently explained to the “Tiroler Tageszeitung.” However, this did not mean that she would immediately move to that position should she be offered it, it was initially reported. This sparked immense internal discontent within the Tyrolean ÖVP, and talk of her resignation had been circulating all day Friday.

Plans for a Career After Politics
“I applied for the position and was the only applicant. The decision is currently pending in Vienna,” said 44-year-old Mair, who has been a member of the black-red state government since 2022 and was previously the district police commander of Kufstein. There, she was granted a leave of absence for her political duties; after all, members of the government are prohibited from holding other professional positions. Mair apparently has a similar solution in mind in light of her potential new role with the police.

After all, what would happen if she were appointed deputy head of the FGA (Foreigners and Border Police Department, ed.)? For the time being, nothing—if it were up to the state councilor. Then—as was the case in Kufstein—a colleague would stand in for her until she returns to the Provincial Police Directorate.

Mair will now likely return to police service sooner than expected.(Bild: Land Tirol)

Mattle and the ÖVP Apparently Not Amused
Mair’s statements and her candidacy apparently sparked anything but enthusiasm within the Tyrolean ÖVP and among provincial party chairman and Governor Anton Mattle. Damage control was the order of the day. It is possible that Mattle might pull the plug on Mair, who had long been considered a shaky candidate anyway and whose re-election in the state legislative election in the fall of 2027 was deemed unlikely.

Now the state councilwoman has done so herself. Apparently, Mair was ultimately offered the opportunity to announce her resignation on her own initiative—so that she could save face. Governor Mattle commented: “I would like to thank Astrid Mair for her work to date. Astrid Mair has made an important contribution to the provincial government since 2022, but she made it clear to me from the very beginning that she sees herself as a politician for a limited time and a police officer by passion.”

I have decided not to fill the vacant government position, but instead to continue my consistent austerity measures.

LH Anton Mattle

Bild: Christof Birbaumer

Government post will not be filled
Exciting: Mattle is opting not to fill the vacancy! “It is thanks to Astrid Mair that the measures agreed upon in the government program in the areas of security, labor, families, intergenerational issues, and youth have, for the most part, already been implemented and completed. That’s why I want to send a clear signal today: Politics, too, must do its part to save money. I have decided not to fill the vacant government post, but instead to continue my consistent austerity measures and to lead the government with seven cabinet members,” says Tyrol’s governor.

In light of the international upheavals in the economy and the labor market, labor issues are becoming a top priority. “In addition, I will take on the areas of family, intergenerational affairs, and youth, which I was already responsible for during my time as a provincial councilor. Deputy Governor Josef Geisler will take over the areas of security and disaster management, with which he is already familiar. This ensures that the Tyrolean provincial government remains fully operational,” Mattle added.

Future State Police Chief?
Meanwhile, the “TT” had speculated about a possible further career advancement for Mair within the police force. As deputy chief of the immigration police, she would have an excellent chance of succeeding the current chief, Harald Baumgartner, following his likely retirement next year. She could then use this position as a “stepping stone” to eventually succeed her partner, State Police Director Helmut Tomac, who also won’t be far from retirement himself. Incidentally, the personal relationship between Tomac and Mair had already drawn some political criticism following her appointment as a state councilor.

Provincial Governor Anton Mattle is said to be anything but “amused.”(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

FacesSharp Criticismfrom the Opposition As early as Friday, the opposition had already leveled sharp criticism at Astrid Mair and, above all, at the ÖVP. “Mair has lost all sense of political decency,” said Andrea Haselwanter-Schneider, chairwoman of the Liste Fritz party, in her attack. The public sector is “not an ÖVP self-service store,” she said. “Filling positions only to leave them unfilled is an old-school political tactic,” agreed Gebi Mair, the Greens’ state spokesperson and parliamentary group leader. Astrid Mair’s attempt to hold several public service positions at once and then have others carry out the work fits into a familiar pattern.

Mair’s own security portfolio, moreover, is a “failed experiment.” The Green Party caucus leader advocated for the vacant portfolios to be distributed among other members of the state government.

Anyone who secures their professional future in the middle of their term of office clearly has their mind elsewhere.

NEOS-Landessprecherin Birgit Obermüller

Bild: Johanna Birbaumer

“This story has become so absurd that it’s hard to believe it’s even real,” said NEOS provincial spokesperson and caucus leader Birgit Obermüller: “Anyone who secures their professional future in the middle of their term in office clearly has their mind elsewhere.” Within the Tyrolean ÖVP, one increasingly gets the impression that top positions are being “passed on within the same circle of family, party members, and acquaintances.”

FPÖ: Mair “Dumped Internally”
Meanwhile, FPÖ leader Markus Abwerzger struck a slightly different note. On Facebook, he identified “days of chaos within the ÖVP.” Apparently, the state councilor for security is being “sidelined internally.” He couldn’t imagine that the current scandal was the cause: “The opportunity simply presented itself. In my view, that’s not the right way to go about things. But that’s what the ÖVP is known for.” Abwerzger called Mair “yet another ray of hope within the weak Tyrolean government team.”