Burgenland's New State Parliament Constitutes Itself

The Burgenland state parliament re-elected Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) as governor during its inaugural session on Thursday. Doskozil and his government team received votes from 19 of the 36 deputies. The FPÖ and ÖVP had already announced in advance that they would not vote for the new red-green state government. For the Greens, this is their first participation in government in Burgenland.

State Parliament Director Christina Krumböck and State Office Director Ronald Reiter accompanied the re-elected governor to the parliament after the election, where he was sworn in on the state constitution by the new State Parliament President Astrid Eisenkopf (SPÖ). In addition to Anja Haider-Wallner (Greens) as the new deputy governor, the government includes the already known state councillors Heinrich Dorner, Leonhard Schneemann, and Daniela Winkler (all SPÖ). Doskozil will be sworn in on the federal constitution by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen tomorrow, Friday.

State Parliament with Inaugural Session

The Burgenland state parliament convened on Thursday for its inaugural session following the state election on January 19. The SPÖ sole 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. Both the assembly hall and the visitor galleries were fully occupied on Thursday. Among the numerous distinguished guests were Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens), former governor Hans Niessl (SPÖ), and diocesan bishop Ägidius Zsifkovics. Doskozil's wife Julia and his adult son Lukas from his first marriage were also among the visitors.

At the beginning on Thursday, all 36 state parliament deputies were sworn in, 15 of whom are new to the 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 deputies. The Greens continue to have two mandates. Afterwards, Doskozil's former deputy Eisenkopf, who is leaving the government team, was elected as the new State Parliament President. Johann Tschürtz (FPÖ) was elected as the Second State Parliament President, 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.

Social Media and Initiative for Girls

Eisenkopf emphasized the desire 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, but 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 they proceed 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 have the well-being of the people in mind.

Hergovich: "Great Honor"

Her predecessor Robert Hergovich (SPÖ) bid farewell after about one and a half years in the presidency. "I leave with gratitude. To be 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 the government coordinator and, alongside club chairman Roland Fürst, chairman of the SPÖ club.

The new state parliament also elected the representatives in the Federal Council, namely Thomas Schmid and Mario Trinkl (both SPÖ) as well as Thomas Karacsony (FPÖ). The new chairman of the state audit committee is Thomas Hofer (FPÖ).

Women are underrepresented in the new state parliament. Only a quarter of the members are female, whereas in the just-ended legislative period it was at least nearly a third. The mandates that moved up due to the formation of the government in the SPÖ 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 election losses of the ÖVP also affected the proportion of women. Among the eight turquoise representatives, there is only one woman (13 percent). Only with the Greens, who rely on the zipper principle, are the two seats evenly distributed, which corresponds to a women's quota of 50 percent.

(APA/Red)

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