Romanian local councilor in Vienna: “It is normal to meet the Austrian president in the morning in the subway”

Ramona has been a member of the SPÖ, the Austrian Social Democratic Party, for more than seven years. In Vienna, Ramona works as an office manager in a construction company. Ramona Miletic is the only Romanian woman with a local elected office in Austria. The intense activity that she had in recent years in the Simmering sector propelled her to tenth place on the party’s electoral lists, being re-elected. In total, SPÖ obtained 26 terms as local councilors in Simmering. The mayor’s office has a total of 60 local councilors.

Ramona Miletic, in the electoral campaign PHOTO: personal file

“Love took me to Austria”

In Romania, Ramona worked for several years in the construction field, being the Procurement Director at a company in Pitesti. “Love took me to Austria. I met my husband when he arrived with a work contract in 2007 from Vienna to Romania, in Pitesti. Once finished, we decided to move together to Vienna,” says Ramona Miletic.

The beginnings in Vienna and the adaptation to the new country were difficult for Ramona Miletic: “At the beginning it was quite difficult, especially due to the language barrier. At home I studied only English and Russian. My luck was that my husband enrolled me in school from day one to learn German. From there I was guided.

At that time, as a Romanian citizen, you had to obtain a work permit. After two years, I managed to find a job in the same field in which I was working in Romania, in construction, becoming an office manager.

She joined SPÖ more than seven years ago, wanting to be actively involved in local life in Simmering, an area that has become a second home for Ramona Miletic.

“For me it has always been important to work for a socially just society, in which all people have the same opportunities. The active design of the city and the neighborhood in which I live is a very important issue for me. The first legislature was a continuation of the work I did in recent years in this sector, I managed to carry out several projects, ”says Ramona Miletic, the first Romanian local councilor elected in Vienna.

Promoted Romania in Vienna

Ramona giving interviews to Austrian televisions after an action to promote Romania in Vienna PHOTO: Personal archive

As a local councilor in Vienna, Ramona has been involved in numerous projects: from the creation of a special area for quadrupeds, traffic problems, street names, to cultural promotion in Simmering. In 2019, together with the Maramureş City Council, it promoted Romania and Maramureş in Vienna, within an event attended by thousands of people. “It was an extraordinary event that had many positive echoes in both the Austrian and Romanian press,” recalls Ramona.

How many Romanians live in sector 11 of Vienna?

Another impact project that Ramona is working on will take place in 2021: “We will have a day dedicated to sport where offers for children and young people will have priority.”

Ramona also told us how the sector 11 community reacted to the fact that it comes from Romania: “Reactions were divided, but I think it is natural for citizens to be reluctant to a newcomer, the language barrier plays an important role. “.

How big is the Romanian community in sector 11? According to official data, there are approximately 2,400 Romanian citizens in Simmering, the sector has a total of more than 97,000 inhabitants. “Vienna is the cultural capital of the world and, through a special project, we set out to bring to light talented Romanians from sector 11, for example, the young painter Adina Caciuc or Mr. Emilian Croitoru, painter and collector”, says Ramona Miletic. .

Christian Kern, former Austrian Chancellor, is one of the leading figures in the simmering industry. And the A4 motorway, which goes to Vienna airport and Hungary, part of Simmering.

Ramona, second from the bottom right, with some colleagues from the City Council PHOTO: personal archive

The activity of councilor in Vienna takes a lot of time for Ramona Miletic: “I spend a lot of time on the street in contact with citizens or participating in various activities, I dedicate almost all my free time. But I spend Sundays with my family. “

Ramona Miletic also told us how the mayor-citizen relationship develops in Vienna and what impacted her the most in this regard: “It is a direct relationship, citizens have the opportunity to dialogue with us through various communication channels. to email, phone, Facebook to meetings during audience hours, in the street, restaurant, etc. What most caught my attention was the closeness of the politicians here. It is normal to meet the president of Austria or the mayor general of the capital in the morning in the metro ”.

Ramona Miletic also revealed to us what she likes most about Vienna, the city with the highest quality of life in the world: the history you discover when visiting this city, the old emblematic buildings, the cafes, the Vienna Opera, the Sacher cake. Vienna is the greenest city in the world and Ramona appreciates it very much, appreciates Vienna’s public transport network, as well as the multitude of options to spend free time.

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