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Four ÖVP mayors were lost in the second round of the elections in Vorarlberg. The change of power in Bregenz is spectacular, in Lech the long-term mayor came across a real estate project with Rene Benko.
7:06 pm, September 27, 2020
Sunday’s mayor’s second round in Vorarlberg ended with sensation: former party leader SPÖ Michael ritsch (52) prevailed in his fourth appearance in the state capital Bregenz and pushed the mayor Markus Linhart (60, ÖVP) from the chair. The current head of SPÖ Martin Staudinger He made “Red Sunday” perfect with his hit at Hard on Lake Constance. In Lochau on Lake Constance there are with Frank Matt (57) the first green mayor of Vorarlberg.
SPÖ became Bregenz
In both Bregenz and Hard, the votes of green voters have likely made a difference. In Bregenz, Ritsch won nearly 900 votes behind Mayor Linhart (since 1997), although Linhart had promised in a letter to citizens that the black-green coalition would continue if it was successful. On Hard, Staudinger extended his small lead from the first vote to a landslide victory.
Looking for a new party leader
Both Ritsch and Staudinger were “overwhelmed” in their opening statements. For the SPÖ, Staudinger’s electoral victory means that they have to search for a new party leader. The 41-year-old, just two years at the top of the game, will focus on the mayor’s office as announced. On Sunday he could not say whether he will remain a simple member of the state parliament. For his part, Ritsch has already made it clear that he will leave the state parliament.
Youngest Community Leader in the State
I almost had a SPÖ candidate in Bludenz Mario ladder expanded the “double” to a “triple hit”, but finally held 222 votes behind ÖVP newcomers Simon Tschann back. Tschann, 28, is currently the youngest mayor of Vorarlberg. The ÖVP mayor was in no danger Wolfgang Matt in Feldkirch, a small consolation for the Popular Party. Besides Feldkirch and Bludenz, Dornbirn is the only city left with a head of ÖVP (Andrea Kaufmann). Five years ago Hohenems went to the FPÖ (Dieter egger) “lost”.
First green mayor in Vorarlberg
In Lochau, on Lake Constance, an ophthalmologist arrived Frank Matt almost seven percentage points behind the mayor Michael simma (ÖVP) from the first vote. Matt, who entered politics ten years ago, was crowned the first mayor of the Greens in Vorarlberg.
Benko’s controversial real estate project
And in Lech am Arlberg, too, the signs pointed to change: there it was resolved Stefan jochum Long-term mayor Ludwig muxel (From 1993). Muxel was able to make up for part of her deficit compared to Jochum from the first vote, but she ultimately stayed more than six percentage points behind Jochum. Muxel stumbled upon plans for the design of the new community center. The large project, which is already being executed, with an investment cost of 38 million euros, divided the community. Jochum scored particularly well among voters for his attitude that the big project was going in a direction he didn’t like.
The disputes reached a fever pitch in July: traders raised the alarm in an open letter: they wrote that the KaDeWe group of the Tyrolean real estate investor Rene Benko They have unveiled a finished concept for a 2,510 square meter shopping center in the community center. This would double Lech’s retail space in one fell swoop.
A longtime Muxel colleague and confidant, Jochum, who is Lech’s registrar, only decided to run for direct mayoral election in the summer. On the original election date of March 15, which was postponed due to the crown pandemic, Jochum’s name would not have been on the ballot.
