"We want to take on government responsibility," said the lead candidate at a press conference on Monday. The election goal is therefore to become so strong "that a government without the People's Party is not possible." Mahrer does not see his indictment in the Wienwert case for breach of trust as an obstacle.

"Absolutely not," Mahrer said in response to a related question. He also does not expect the matter to negatively impact the black election result - for which the top candidate did not want to name a percentage target. "I am convinced of that." In the 2020 election, the Rathaus-ÖVP was able to secure over 20 percent during the Sebastian Kurz era. Current polls predict significant losses for the opposition party.

Mahrer: Vienna Should Become "Safer, Fairer, and Better"

After a quarter-century of "left-left politics" by the SPÖ - first with the Greens, then with the NEOS - a bourgeois touch is finally needed to make Vienna "safer, fairer, and better." Because some things have "tipped over," Mahrer listed issues such as insufficient German language skills in schools, which he claims is the highest youth unemployment in Central Europe, gang and youth crime that has become part of everyday life, or an overwhelmed healthcare system.

"The ÖVP is the only party that has the will, the strength, and the competence to solve these problems," the party leader was convinced. At the media event, he presented the candidates nominated last Friday for the election on April 27 as a "team of experienced all-rounders and young talents." Behind Mahrer at the top of the list are Vienna Chamber of Commerce Vice President Kasia Greco, JVP state chairman Harald Zierfuß, Senior Citizens' Association President Ingrid Korosec, and Vienna ÖAAB head Hannes Taborsky. All of them are already represented in the state parliament and city council.

Everything about the Vienna election

(APA/Red)

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