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As for sports and politics, the duels in Carinthia are currently marrying. For the first time in ten years, Klagenfurt KAC faced arch rival VSV de Villach in the ice hockey play-off. And today, Sunday, there will be second-round elections for mayors in 28 of the 132 municipalities and, therefore, political decisions for the next six years.
In addition to the ice, there are tremors in the state capital, Klagenfurt, and in the two district cities Spittal an der Drau and Hermagor. Here the SPÖ could lose its red executive chair to the Carinthia team or the ÖVP.
Hardened fronts in Klagenfurt
What can you learn from the two weeks of the second round of the electoral campaign in the state capital? Maria-Luise Mathiaschitz (SPÖ) and Christian Scheider (Team Carinthia), both runoff candidates for the third time in the Klagenfurt mayoral race, will no longer be happy in this life. Jörg Haider’s 56-year-old former tennis instructor accused the 64-year-old doctor of being distant in the past 14 days. It lacks competition.
As a side note: since 1997, all Klagenfurt mayors have had to run in the second round elections. So this time too. Six years ago Mathiaschitz won against Scheider with 53.31 percent. In 2009 she was clearly beaten by him with 36 percent.
A friendly rapprochement is unlikely even after the final election results are available. An intermediate result without voting cards is expected on Sunday at 7 pm The final result with voting cards should not be available until late at night. One thing is for sure: if Mathiaschitz loses, he wants to end his political career.
Gerhard vs. Gerhard
The race result in the district town of Spittal an der Drau should also arrive at 7pm at the earliest. The fronts are less hardened here than in Klagenfurt, some 50 miles away. Former SPÖ football and party friends Gerhard Pirih (still SPÖ) and Gerhard Köfer (now Team Carinthia) compete against each other.
The Carinthian team’s line of argument in the second round battle at the Drau was quite similar. Köfer, 60, accused his 52-year-old competitor and the incumbent mayor of being hostile in dealing with citizens. Köfer himself ran Spittal’s fortunes for 16 years as mayor before leaving early. Thus, as in Klagenfurt, the duel is former mayor against successor. A victory for Köfer, and with it a change in Spittal from red to yellow, is considered by many to be almost final. In the first ballot, Köfer was 94 votes ahead of Pirih, who lost his absolute majority.
The difference with Klagenfurt: if Pirih loses in the second round, he will accept the position of first deputy mayor. Köfer does not want to pursue his political ambitions at Spittal in the event of an electoral defeat.
Closed race like in 2015?
The third city in the district in which the Social Democrats must fear for their chief executive is Hermagor. Here too, Siegfried Ronacher (SPÖ) and Leopold Astner (ÖVP) meet for the third time. The year 2015 had shown that it could be difficult. Ronacher, 55, won against Astner, 60, by just seven votes. In 2021, it will be added that it is unclear how much Hermagor residents resent their acting local chief from the exit regulations that have been in place for the entire district of the same name since last Tuesday. 308 votes were in the first vote among the competitors.
Participation is crucial
In addition to the cities, there will be a second round for mayors in the following 25 municipalities: Keutschach, Krumpendorf, Maria Saal, Gmünd, Irschen, Krems, Lurnfeld, Obervellach, Reißeck, Seeboden, Weißensee, Kirchbach, Brückl, Guttaring, Klein St. Paul, Metnitz, St. Georgen am Längsee, Steuerberg, Bleiburg, Eberndorf, Eisenkappel, Sittersdorf, Lavamünd, St. Andrä and St. Paul are the case.
The question of voter turnout also remains interesting. This was reduced in the first round (here also the municipal councils were elected) from 71.23 percent to 67.28 percent. In Klagenfurt, only 52.11 percent cast their vote. In Spittal it was 65.81 percent and in Hermagor 79.28 percent. According to political scientists, experience shows that second round elections result in even lower turnout.
Monday at the latest will show the sportsmanship with which the second-round candidates make the political decision.
