"Completely Fooled": Vienna's ÖVP Gives Ludwig a Proper Dressing Down at the Start of the Election Campaign
With a "great Vienna speech" by party leader Karl Mahrer at the Sofiensäle, the Vienna ÖVP kicked off the intensive phase of its election campaign on Thursday evening. Vienna is at a crossroads, Mahrer emphasized in front of 500 guests. The city has not changed for the better, and the blame lies with 25 years of "left-left politics" of the SPÖ, first with the Greens and now with NEOS. The FPÖ names the problems but has no solutions. "Whoever truly loves Vienna" must therefore vote for the ÖVP on April 27.
ÖVP Focuses on Security and Integration Policy in Vienna Election Campaign
It is not an easy election campaign for the ÖVP given the national political situation of recent months, Mahrer emphasized in his nearly three-quarter-hour speech. The reason he and the party are still taking on this challenge is simple: "Because we love Vienna," said the ÖVP Vienna leader in his speech, which was staged by the party with an emphasis on optimism. "Vienna remains Vienna, but only with us," he repeated several times.
The 70-year-old former deputy state police president and former member of the National Council, Mahrer, saw plenty of need for action. "The Vienna we love is disappearing more and more in the neighborhoods, in the districts." The SPÖ's policies have turned the capital into a "social and crime magnet," with "zones of insecurity," youth gangs, and parallel societies. The current city government of SPÖ and NEOS has also "driven the education system into the ground." Every second school starter speaks too little German to follow the lessons. Those who can afford it look for a place in a private school for their children. In hospitals, people wait for hours in emergency rooms and weeks for operations, "because the systems are poorly managed and completely overwhelmed." And those who work 40 hours feel "completely screwed" when others, who have never paid into the social system, receive just as much money without any contribution.
Mahrer: "Zero Tolerance" for Those Unwilling to Integrate and Criminals
"We must stop this development and we will stop this development," promised Mahrer. SPÖ, Greens, and most recently NEOS as a "compliant, spineless appendage" have glossed over all problems or blamed others, and the FPÖ has never implemented a solution. The Vienna ÖVP, on the other hand, wants to "name problems and simply do better."
Mahrer announced "zero tolerance for those unwilling to integrate and criminals." The ÖVP Vienna's security package and a plan against youth crime should bring 1,500 additional police officers, the introduction of a city watch for a greater sense of security, and more video surveillance. In terms of integration, he called for a "restart": "German is mandatory, work is a prerequisite, contribution to society is a given." With the Vienna People's Party, there will be "guiding culture and no wishy-washy," Mahrer promoted.
Additionally, the ÖVP will "make Vienna smart again," with mandatory kindergarten for children who do not speak enough German, funding only for kindergartens that teach children German, and more language support staff. There should be consequences for parents who do not support their children's educational obligations.
Vienna ÖVP Leader Demands Construction of the Lobau Tunnel
Mahrer wants to avoid long waiting times in emergency rooms in the future by referring patients to doctor’s offices and pharmacies via the hotline 1450. At the same time, a preventive examination, health prevention, and fitness campaign should ensure that the people of Vienna stay healthy longer.
"Excessive social benefits" should be adjusted to the national regulations, young people should be brought back into employment, and business start-ups should be facilitated. In terms of mobility, Mahrer emphasized "personal responsibility": They are against "ideology-driven parking space destruction" and "deliberate car expulsion policy," but "for climate and environmental protection with common sense." He explicitly demanded the construction of the Lobau Tunnel in this context.
Vienna Election 2025 as a "Historic Opportunity" for the ÖVP
On April 27, there is a "historic opportunity to change Vienna," Mahrer advocated for enough votes to take on government responsibility. The speech was also followed by current and former party figures from Vienna and the federal government, from former Vienna ÖVP leader and Finance Minister Gernot Blümel to the current Secretary General Nico Marchetti, who, in representation of the party leader Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker attending the EU summit, "opened for" Mahrer, as he himself said. Marchetti, himself a former district councilor in Favoriten, appealed to party members not to be impressed by poor poll results. "Fighting is a decision - and we have decided to fight."
A vote for the ÖVP is a "chance for real change," Stocker himself emphasized in a video message. Vienna needs a policy "that looks and acts," so that there is security, a strong economy, support for families, and functioning integration.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.