Law-and-Order Policy to Boost ÖVP in Vienna Election 2025

After a quarter-century in opposition, the ÖVP hopes to secure a place in the Vienna city government again. The party, centered around top candidate Karl Mahrer, aims to counter the "left-left politics" of the SPÖ and its changing partners with a law-and-order policy, calls for German language promotion, and the preservation of parking spaces. The party meets polls predicting a low tide for the ÖVP after the turquoise wave in the 2020 Vienna election with purposeful optimism.

Back then, the city hall conservatives secured 20.4 percent of the votes, an increase of 11.2 percentage points. The positive result was likely due in no small part to the hype around former ÖVP federal party chairman Sebastian Kurz. He retired from politics in the wake of the ÖVP corruption affair - and with him, the Vienna ÖVP leader, Finance Minister, and Kurz confidant Gernot Blümel. Since then, the ÖVP has suffered setbacks in elections with few exceptions.

Security policy as a top issue in the Vienna election campaign

Karl Mahrer, the 70-year-old whom the city hall conservatives pulled out of the hat as Blümel's successor in 2021, wants to prevent a continuation of this trend in the Vienna election. Mahrer resigned his National Council mandate and moved to city hall as a non-executive city councilor. Under the former state police commander, security policy is a particular concern for the Vienna ÖVP.

Thus, the People's Party is campaigning against parallel societies and youth gangs, demanding video surveillance and alcohol bans in public spaces, a city watch, and "zero-tolerance zones." The ÖVP, which is pushing for a coalition with the SPÖ, also wants to implement a German language promotion plan for children, as well as the Lobau tunnel and a reduction of the comparatively high social assistance in Vienna. They are courting drivers with a commitment to parking spaces.

Causa Wienwert not yet a stumbling block for Mahrer

Without internal conflicts, the ÖVP did not get through the last few years. For example, at the end of 2023, when Friedrich Nikolaus Ebert became district chairman of Hietzing instead of Johanna Sperker, who was nominated by the district party. He had gathered the majority in the turquoise club of the district leadership behind him. But even state party chairman Mahrer himself did not remain inconspicuous and caused a stir with superlatives on the topics of immigration and security in Vienna. In videos, he identified a takeover at the Brunnenmarkt by Syrians, Afghans, and Arabs and expressed concern about a "no-go zone" in Favoriten.

Recently, he was criticized due to the Wienwert case. Mahrer and his wife are accused of contributing to infidelity. He stated that he has a "good and clear conscience" and is not thinking about resigning. However, the president of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, Walter Ruck, said that one cannot simply return to business as usual. If the Vienna election results in a failure, the state people's party will likely not be able to avoid a leadership debate.

Vienna ÖVP always in the shadow of the SPÖ

The times when the ÖVP was considered a major party in Vienna are definitely over. Although they could never match the SPÖ in the federal capital, they usually achieved over 30 percent in elections before 1990. Between 1945 and 1973, the conservatives also continuously held government responsibility. Even though the SPÖ could have governed alone with an absolute majority, they voluntarily left executive city council posts to the ÖVP. Another red-black coalition occurred when the SPÖ lost the absolute majority in 1996. Since then, the SPÖ has governed either alone, with the Greens, or with the NEOS.

The ÖVP had to endure a crash in 1991: The city hall conservatives lost ten percentage points and held at 18.1 percent, simultaneously marking the rise of the FPÖ in the federal capital. Until 2020, the ÖVP remained on a downward trend. The low point was marked by 9.2 percent in the Vienna election of 2015 - the first and so far only time they narrowly missed the ten percent mark.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.