Burgenland's New State Parliament Constitutes Itself
The Burgenland state parliament convened on Thursday for its inaugural session following the state election on January 19. The SPÖ single-party government, in office since 2020, is now officially history. However, the Reds remain the strongest faction and are now in a coalition with the Greens, who narrowly made it back into the state parliament. The government team is led by Governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ). He will be re-elected in the session.
15 New Deputies
At the beginning, all 36 state parliament deputies were sworn in on Thursday, 15 of whom are entering the state parliament for the first time. Afterwards, Doskozil's former deputy Astrid Eisenkopf (SPÖ), who is leaving the government team, was elected as the new president of the state parliament. Johann Tschürtz (FPÖ) was appointed as the second president of the state parliament, and Claudia Schlager (SPÖ) as the third. Voting was conducted internally by the 17 red and the nine blue deputies. All three elections were unanimous.
Eisenkopf emphasized her intention to open the state parliament even more to the public in the future. A focus will be placed on social media to reach the youth, and the new president of the state parliament also plans a special initiative for girls and young women. She wants to show them career opportunities, make politics "appealing," and encourage them to pursue a political career.
Political discussions, as they take place in the state parliament, are the essence of democracy, "when conducted with mutual respect." As president of the state parliament, she will "put the common before the divisive," Eisenkopf stated. "My doors are always open." It is important to always keep the well-being of the people in mind.
Hergovich: "Great Honor"
His predecessor Robert Hergovich (SPÖ) stepped down from the presidency after about a year and a half. "I leave with gratitude. Being able to hold this office was a great honor for me," he said. His place is now back among the ranks of the state parliament members. Additionally, he will become government coordinator and, alongside club chairman Roland Fürst, chairman of the SPÖ club.
The vote on Doskozil and his government team, which for the first time also includes the Greens, is the last item on the agenda. In addition to Anja Haider-Wallner (Greens) as the new deputy governor, the team includes the already known state councilors Heinrich Dorner, Leonhard Schneemann, and Daniela Winkler (all SPÖ). The opposition parties FPÖ and ÖVP have already announced that they will not vote for the new government team.
New Burgenland State Parliament
In the new state parliament, the SPÖ holds only 17 of the total 36 seats. The FPÖ has nine and the ÖVP eight representatives. The Greens still have two mandates. The state government remains with five members. Governor Doskozil will be sworn in by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen at the Hofburg on Friday.
Women are underrepresented in the new state parliament. Only a quarter of the representatives are female, whereas in the just-ended legislative period it was at least nearly a third. The SPÖ members who moved up due to the formation of the government did not bring any change here, only five of the 17 are women (29 percent). The FPÖ was able to fill nine mandates and will have two women in their ranks of representatives in the future (22 percent). The losses of the ÖVP in the election also affected the proportion of women. Among the eight turquoise representatives, there is only one woman (13 percent). Only with the Greens, who adhere to the zipper principle, are the two seats evenly distributed, which corresponds to a female quota of 50 percent.
(APA/Red)
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.