Vienna Has a New Deputy Mayor

A few weeks before the Vienna election on April 27, two new government members were sworn in on Friday in the city council. The new City Councillor for Education and Integration is now Bettina Emmerling (NEOS), and the previous Finance Director Christoph Maschek took over the office of Finance City Councillor. The reshuffles became necessary because the previous department heads Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS) and Peter Hanke (SPÖ) moved to the federal level.

Emmerling New Vienna Deputy Mayor

Wiederkehr holds the office of Minister of Education in the three-party coalition, and Hanke took over the leadership of the Ministry of Infrastructure. The replacements in Vienna were formally sealed today. Bettina Emmerling was previously the head of the pink city hall faction. She not only follows Wiederkehr as a city councillor but also took over the office of Deputy Mayor. The SPÖ explicitly relies on an interim solution. The new Finance and Economic City Councillor Christoph Maschek is only supposed to remain in the position until the election. The election or swearing-in of the government members took place during a specially convened session of the city council. The usual question time and current hour were omitted.

Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) wished the two new additions to the government team all the best after their appointment. "I look forward to an efficient and indeed friendly cooperation." He emphasized that it was not easy to make such a change a few weeks before the election. At the same time, he also highlighted that he now hopes for a closer connection to the federal level. Two very competent members of the city government have moved there.

Ludwig reiterated that the new SPÖ city councillor is only in office for a transitional phase. "It is a temporary solution." They decided to bring in a person with special expertise. That is why they chose Maschek. "By that, I do not mean the duo Hörmanseder and Stachl from Willkommen Österreich, whom I appreciate," clarified the mayor. Who could become the Finance City Councillor after the election or after the formation of a new city government is still open. Ludwig confirmed this upon APA inquiry. His goal is to form a new government before the summer.

Emmerling with "Great Day"

The new NEOS city councillor Emmerling assured: "I approach this task with great humility and gratitude. This is, of course, a great day for me." She also promised to focus on education. Because education is the foundation for everything else, it is a great asset. Emmerling did not hide the fact that the challenges in this area are "enormous." "It does not bypass our schools when the world becomes more turbulent," she noted. Vienna must bear the main burden of family reunification. It is also felt in schools when "the enemies of our liberal democracy recruit through social media." However, she is glad that the federal government has now agreed on a fair distribution of resources.

The new City Councillor for Finance, Christoph Maschek, assured that his goal is to ensure that business continues in an orderly and regulated manner. "You can rest assured that the city's finances are in good hands with me." He will fulfill the task to the best of his knowledge and conscience. At the same time, Maschek made it clear: "I will not comment on party-political issues." It is a great honor for him to have been entrusted with the office, but he is also looking forward to returning to his old role.

Speaking to the APA, Maschek reaffirmed that he will not put on hold the discussions with the departments aimed at budget consolidation, which were sought by his predecessor. "We are now at the beginning of a process." He will initiate and set it in motion. Recently, the city admitted that the deficit for 2025 could be significantly higher than estimated. However, Maschek expressed confidence in being able to counteract this. "We have already proven in the 2024 financial statement that we saved almost 500 million euros. This means we will also be able to take appropriate steps in 2025."

Vienna FPÖ: "We Do Not Support the Personnel Changes"

FPÖ leader Dominik Nepp was unimpressed by today's events, as he stated in his speech: "We do not support the personnel changes." This also applies to the new federal government. The traffic light coalition brings nothing good for Vienna and nothing good for Austria, he lamented. New taxes have been announced. The "first burden hammer" is already hanging over people's heads. At the same time, there is a lack of money, including in the education system.

Green Party leader Judith Pühringer joined in the good wishes for the new government members in the federal government and in Vienna. However, she also criticized the new plans of the federal government. Suspending family reunification does not solve a single integration problem and is just "crude populism," she complained. The federal government is also completely blind in one eye, namely when it comes to climate protection. "It now means excavators instead of nature." She lamented, for example, the scrapping of the climate bonus and the plans for the construction of the Lobau tunnel.

ÖVP councilor Manfred Juraczka shared the assessment that changes in the city government before an election lead to a difficult situation. However, Mayor Ludwig is responsible for this. He brought forward the election date solely based on party-political criteria. Unlike his Green predecessor, he was pleased that the new Minister of Transport sees the necessity of a bypass. He pointed out to the new City Councillor for Finance that there are problems that should not be postponed. The labor market, in particular, is causing great concern, noted the VP politician.

(APA/Red)

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