Vienna Election: ÖVP Uses Fire Extinguisher in Campaign Finale
The ÖVP kicked off the finale of their campaign for the Vienna municipal council election on Friday at the Rochusmarkt. The weather was not kind to the turquoise party, as top candidate Karl Mahrer campaigned with a fire extinguisher in hand for the "fire extinguisher coalition" with the SPÖ he was promoting, despite pouring rain and stormy gusts of wind.
Kick-off for ÖVP Campaign Finale for Vienna Election
The event at Rochusmarkt in the third Vienna district was the starting signal for the final tour through the 23 districts. "We will go into every neighborhood together and engage in conversation with the people," emphasized Mahrer. In good weather, anyone can campaign, but the ÖVP will not be deterred by the current conditions, said Mahrer: "So that the sun will shine again on Sunday."
The municipal council election on Sunday is a "directional election," emphasized Mahrer. It is about who will set the course in the city in the coming years and make the necessary course corrections. NEOS and the Greens stand for a continuation of the standstill and cannot solve the problems. A vote for the Freedom Party is a "wasted vote." Although they address the right problems in part, they will not take on government responsibility, said Mahrer. Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) has made this clear several times.
Mahrer: "Ready to Take Responsibility"
The only way to initiate a "bourgeois correction" in the city is through ÖVP's participation in government. "We are ready to take responsibility." Just as a fire extinguisher is mostly red, the effective parts are still in black, Mahrer once again used the image of the fire extinguisher and the "fire extinguisher coalition" he is striving for.
In surveys, the People's Party currently looks anything but rosy. According to pollsters, they are vying with the Greens and NEOS for third place. On average, the ÖVP was at 11.1 percent in the latest surveys, which would mean a loss of almost half of their vote share from 2020. At that time, the turquoise party, under their then-chairman, former Finance Minister Gernot Blümel, achieved 20.4 percent of the votes and second place.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.