Markus Figl: This is the New Head of the Vienna ÖVP
The Vienna ÖVP has - once again - a new leader. And he bears a highly prominent name: Markus Figl (51) is the grandnephew of former Chancellor Leopold Figl (1902-1965). The district chairman of the Inner City was designated by the party's presidium as the successor to Karl Mahrer. Mahrer threw in the towel after the defeat in the Vienna election.
From District Chairman to Vienna ÖVP Leader
Born on November 14, 1973, the lawyer Figl lives in the city center and was, among other things, a cabinet staff member of ÖVP Minister Michael Spindelegger. He is married and has four children. Politically socialized in the Young ÖVP, Figl, who is also considered a close confidant of former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, was already deputy district chairman in the city from 2005 to 2010 - until he was unexpectedly demoted to a simple district councilor by the then district chief Ursula Stenzel.
The coup caused a stir in the state party at the time, and the response was not long in coming: The ousted was elected district party chairman of the City Blacks in 2011 with 95 percent approval. In 2014, a decisive moment came when he, and not Stenzel, was nominated as the top candidate for the district council elections with 100 percent. Since December 2015, he has been the district chairman in the Vienna City.
Connection to Spindelegger
However, Figl was not only active in district politics. In 1999, he served as an employee and advisor to Spindelegger, who was initially a member of the National Council and later the Second President of the National Council. From 2008, he worked in Spindelegger's cabinet when he became Foreign Minister. He was also temporarily active in the ministerial cabinet in the Ministry of Finance from 2013. Markus Figl is also one of the presidents of the Austrian-Israeli Society and the president of the City Academy of the Vienna ÖVP, the educational institution of the state party.
Upon taking office as district chief, he formulated the following credo: The Inner City should be a populated city center and not a deserted city core. The first project was the renovation of Stephansplatz. However, he has little joy with another Viennese landmark: the fiakers. Not only are the horse droppings a thorn in his side or nose. Citing the costs for the renovation of the streets damaged by horseshoes, he demanded new fittings - and even ventilated a complete ban on the carriages.
Figl with Big Plans
He also has big plans regarding car traffic, even if he hasn't been able to realize all of them yet. He fought - even against the powerful Chamber of Commerce - against opening resident parking spaces and calls for comprehensive traffic calming. The so-called car-free city is also based on an initiative by Figl. However, he is not thinking of a complete driving ban, but rather of the district residents and their vehicles. They should have more space in the future because vehicles from outside the district are to be banned to garages.
The project has so far failed due to legal requirements. This is because monitoring of entry rules via cameras is planned. A change in the road traffic regulations is necessary here, which the current federal government has, however, set out to do.
First Place in Vienna Election
He has once again shown that he can succeed in elections: In yesterday's election, Figl was able to defend first place in the city center with the best result of all districts. More than 36 percent voted for the ÖVP in the first district, nowhere else in Vienna did they perform better. However, they could not completely detach from the overall turquoise trend. The result meant a decrease of around 4 percentage points.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.