Vienna ÖVP Officially Elects Markus Figl as Chairman

Figl was already designated by the committees as the state party chairman after the People's Party's election defeat in the Vienna election in April. Now he officially takes office.

The party conference will take place in the Expedithalle at the Ankerbrotfabrik in Vienna-Favoriten. A total of around 400 delegates are invited to the meeting - as well as prominent guests: Federal party leader and Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker is also on the agenda as a speaker.

Figl Confronted with Challenging Conditions

The conditions Figl is confronted with are quite challenging: The Vienna ÖVP experienced a severe setback in the Vienna election. From more than 20 percent of the vote share, they fell below the ten percent mark, as they did in 2015. Mahrer then stepped down, and the decision on his successor caused further trouble.

Because in the committees the day after the election, Figl had to compete with the Döbling district chairman Daniel Resch for the succession. According to reports, the City district chief narrowly prevailed. After the bumpy reorganization, unity is now being demonstrated: Resch is now nominated as one of his deputies. Additionally, councilor Elisabeth Olischar and the Hietzing district chairwoman Johanna Zinkl will serve as deputies.

The party presidency, as emphasized by the ÖVP, will thus be streamlined. Under Karl Mahrer, the team was significantly larger. Efficient structures would also enable more efficient work, it is said. Figl will not be active in the town hall in the future either. Although he does not have a mandate, he could theoretically have claimed the position of non-executive city councilor for himself. However, Figl decided to remain in the district.

Figl Confident

The designated city party chairman exudes confidence ahead of the meeting. "With the state party conference, the substantive realignment of the Vienna People's Party begins. SPÖ and Neos have no vision for the future of Vienna - as the Vienna People's Party, we will develop this vision for the future of our city," assured Figl in a statement to the APA.

A change of chairman in the Vienna ÖVP is not a particularly rare event: Before Figl, a total of 15 people have led the party since 1945, not counting three acting short-term chairmen. Lois Weinberger was even elected party leader twice between 1945 and 1960.

Figl's predecessor Mahrer took over in 2021 after the departure of Gernot Blümel. Blümel himself was also appointed after an election debacle. In 2015, he took over the office from the unsuccessful party leader Manfred Juraczka.

(APA/Red)

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